


When Ashes Fall...

by Stormrunner777



Series: The Unforgettable Saga [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives, Everyone Needs A Hug, Explicit Language, F/M, Female My Unit | Byleth, Inspired by Music, My Unit | Byleth Has Emotions, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovered Memories, Repressed Memories, Sothis (Fire Emblem) Can't Sing, Sothis (Fire Emblem) Visited Earth, Spoilers, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:20:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 33
Words: 223,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25196851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormrunner777/pseuds/Stormrunner777
Summary: “Legs are tired, these hands are broken.Alone I try with words unspokenSilent cry, my breath is frozenWith blinded eyes, I fear myself”- GodsmackFour times she watched her home burn. Four times she saw her students become monsters of war. Four times she failed to save them from their fate. This time, she will not fail.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Bernadetta von Varley/Hubert von Vestra, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Edelgard von Hresvelg, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Sothis, Ferdinand von Aegir/Dorothea Arnault, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: The Unforgettable Saga [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825330
Comments: 139
Kudos: 141





	1. Prologue- Trenches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Stand up, wake up, I wont give up, 'cause here I come, here I come, heyeah!"- Pop Evil

Byleth watched Garreg Mach from her window as ongoing restoration efforts began undoing the damage caused by the war.

‘A war I failed to stop again,’ she thought sullenly. Four times now, she had fought in the same war, each time from a different side. The first time it hardly meant anything to her. Byleth’s only concern was the safety of her students, the Golden Deer; at least, until she got knocked out for five years. Once she came to, she had hoped everything was resolved, but Fodlan was now consumed by war. She fought valiantly alongside her students and once the war was over everything should’ve been fine. She was free to carry on with life, until Claude…

‘Claude…,’ 

‘If you could go back, change everything, and, by some stroke of luck, save them, would you do it?’ Those words echoed in her head like they had only just been spoken to her. She wished she never headed them.

“Restoration efforts are progressing smoothly, though resources for some of the lost stained glass are proving difficult to acquire,” announced Seteth, pulling Byleth from her memories. Although she now knew who he really is, she found herself calling him ‘Seteth’ out of habit. She turned to look back at him and found him just as stoic as ever, though his eyes showed unresolved sadness lurking within. 

“I see,” Byleth responds “Would it be possible to open Fodlan’s borders and extend trade relations to other nations?”

“Not for some time I’m afraid. The reputation of the Church is not as intact as it once was.”

“Very well. Prioritize rebuilding the walls, living quarters, and restoring farm land. I…” Byleth paused. She had never been in a position of significant power before. While she hated it now, there was no question that she belonged in a classroom or battlefield. Images of stude- no, her friends, flashed before her eyes. Her eyes drop down to the floor unfocused as their faces greet her once more.

“Archbishop?” asked Seteth, “Are you alright?”

Byleth’s eyes snapped back to him, his face showing concern. “I’m fine. I just- I’m still adjusting to all of this. It is overwhelming.” 

Seteth’s look of concern didn’t waiver as he asked, “You’re still thinking about them, aren’t you?” Byleth closed her eyes as she nodded her head. How could she not? She had pursued four timelines in the hopes of giving Fodlan a better future, giving all of them a better future. And here she stood. Archbishop.The empire had fallen, the kingdom was in shambles, and the alliance was dissolved. The church was the only one that remained, this time at least. One timeline before, the empire reigned victorious. Before that, the kingdom dominated. The first time, the alliance had stood. She had seen it all. 

“I’d only hoped that I could talk some sense into them,” she said. “Get them to stop and think of what they were doing, and yet they were driven. Driven to fight a war no one wanted.”

“And yet you didn’t hesitate when _you_ fought them,” Seteth responds. “Had you chosen to stand by that traitor, I highly doubt the Church, the Kingdom nor the Alliance would’ve stood.” Byleth winced at his chosen title for Edelgard. She knew the truth, she couldn’t see Edelgard as anything more than a victim, just as much as Dimitri; but as far as the people of this timeline knew, Edelgard was a traitorous tyrant and Dimitri a vicious monster. 

Byleth closed her eyes as she spoke, “Even then, they were my students. I can still see the excitement in their eyes when we won the first mock battle, hear them cheer after the battle of the Eagle and the Lion. I was sure I could convince them to avoid this conflict and yet, they chose to fight anyway. And I couldn’t save any of them.”

Seteth brought his hand to his chin as he thought of a response. He raised his eyes to the ceiling as he asked, “If you could go back and do it over again, would you?” 

It always came back to that question. _Every damn time_. Claude asked it first, innocent musing that Byleth heeded without question. Dimitri was next, almost pleading with the Goddess herself for a chance to go back, to stay his blade, ease his rage. Then Edelgard, showing regret for the first time since meeting her as she asked if it was possible to go back and fix this. 

Byleth just turned back to the window and remained silent. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. She never wanted to hear those words again. The faint prospect of making things right. Seteth waited a few minutes before speaking, “I understand if you are unable to respond. I’ve had some time to think this over myself and…” Seteth paused before speaking again, “... actually, never mind. It’s just wishful thinking at this point. Anyway, I am going to check with Alois about the recent recruitment drive for the Knights. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask for me.” 

Byleth waited until she heard the door close behind her. Only then did she let her tears flow freely. She hid herself away from the window to avoid any possible onlookers as she fell to her knees and wept softly.

“I’ve already tried…”

\--------------

It was just as the sun began to set before Byleth collected herself enough to go to her room. Byleth didn’t bother to read any of the recent reports or prepare herself for supper. Instead, she sat at the edge of the bed, and with the flourish of a drunken soldier, flopped on her back. She cautiously reached out to a space within her mind, hoping to hear a response from Sothis, but no one was there. Byleth groaned with frustration as she buried her head in a pillow. ‘Of all the times i need her, now she goes quiet.’ 

It had been two weeks since she last heard from Sothis. ‘I’m going to look for any possible answers elsewhere, because anything we find in Fodlan will just cause more problems,’ were the last words she said before going dark. Since then, Byleth was left to fend for herself, planning restorations, rebuilding the churches reputation and enlisting guards and knights. 

Byleth’s eyes stung a little from her earlier meltdown. She went to grab a tissue from her night stand when she began to realize something. ‘When was the last time I actually felt like this?’ In truth, the only other time she felt like this was when her father died. Every time she took the life of another, it hardly meant a thing. Even the first time she took the life of another student, she’d hardly bat an eye. It was the same across all timelines. ‘Except this one, ‘she mused, ‘What changed between now and then.’ She folded her arms across her chest as she contemplated the possibilities when she felt a light thumping in her chest. She shifted her arms so her hand was over her heart. 

_‘My heart.’_ Byleth sat up in her bed, clutching her chest. She felt it’s pace quicken as she realized what was so different. ‘I have a heart.’ She felt her sadness wash away as a new found clarity washed over her. ‘That’s why it was so easy before. I could hardly feel anything because I lacked the ability to feel. But when did this happen?’ Byleth paced her room while lost in thought. ‘I couldn’t feel anything the first time, the only thing I felt at all was…empty.’ she continued to wrack her memories. ‘The second time… no still nothing, not even when Dimitri…’ She avoided the memory. ‘OK, third time… not the attack on Gereg Mach, not my reunion with Edelgard, none of the battles…wait.’ One battle stuck out in her mind. ‘It was that final battle with Rhea, or Seiros, or the Immaculate One… I don’t know, but when she fell, I… fell… too.’ Byleth’s eyes light up for the first time in weeks. ‘But i came back, and that's when I felt it.’ At the time she didn’t know what she had felt. But now she knew what it was. ‘Relief, relief that the battle was finally over, that the war was won, with Edelgard kneeling over me, wearing the first genuine smile I had seen from her in a long time.’ Byleth realized that she wanted nothing more than to see her smile again, to see them all smile. Dimitri, Claude, Hilda, Bernadetta, Sylvain, every last one of them. 

Byleth looked down at her hands, palms facing her. ‘Could I do it again? Could I actually succeed if I tried just one more time?’ Images of her former students came one after another; some celebrating their highest victories; others admitting their darkest fears, sharing their closest secrets. With all the memories that play before her mind’s eye, she makes her final decision. 

Byleth clenched her fists and closed her eyes as she began to concentrate. ‘I know I can do this now. I just need to find it.’ Byleth felt the gentle burn of power within her body, slowly rising from the depths of her soul. She hesitated for a moment. ‘What if I fail again?’ The building power began to dissipate, before re-surging faster than before. ‘Screw it, I know the truth about everyone and I’ve failed four times before, but never again.’ 

Byleth’s body began to glow as the Divine Pulse charged. ‘Never again.’ Byleth repeated her mantra over and over in her head as a fainted hum filled the room. She felt it, the last barrier to cross. She opened her eyes and took one last glance at her room. ‘No, Seiros’ room. I can’t let it fall to my hands again.’ Byleth closed her eyes once more and focused all her power into the spell. When she felt the spell spill over the final barrier, her last thoughts were ‘Never again will I be denied. Here I come!’ She felt all of time stop abruptly, only for a few seconds. Byleth stood motionless as the walls of the room twisted and turned before being stretched thin as she was thrown backwards. She tried to turn herself but felt invisible hands hold her in place as she saw this timeline she knew become distorted, crumbling to ash and dust; at least, that’s how it appeared to her. The other timelines faded the same way. ‘Perhaps a mortal human isn’t supposed to witness this,’ were her last thoughts before landing on a somewhat soft but still hard surface and getting knocked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And here we...go!"- Joker, The Dark Knight  
> In all seriousness (no pun intended) I've been sitting on this idea for a while because, lets face it, they all deserve better than what they got 75% of the time, and I'm a sucker for good endings. Without further ado, sit back, grab some popcorn, and let's get this ball a rollin', shall we?
> 
> P.S. New chapter every Monday


	2. Short Change Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "This ain't no place for no hero to call home."- The Heavy

Byleth awoke in a cold sweat, frantically looking at her surroundings. She reached for a lantern and ignited the wick. This wasn’t the inn like before. It was a tent. A familiar tent. She looked at the small canvas bag that sat near her, and opened it to find very few belongings. A small leather bound book, seemingly unused, was the first thing she pulled out. Byleth fanned through the book to find it void of any text nor drawing. 

‘I know this book. I used this for lesson planning at the academy. If it’s empty, then wherever,  _ whenever  _ I am, it’s before I’ve arrived there,’ Byleth thought to herself. She looked back into what was definitely her bag to find only scraps of food, spare cloth, and one Vulnerary. She put her book back and looked around to find her coat, armor, and sword resting nearby, the latter two recently polished it seems. She was able to look at herself in the armor like a mirror. Her hair had returned to a familiar blue, with no trace of green to be seen. 

“Well, it’s about time you showed up!”

The sudden voice made Byleth nearly jump right through the tent, but she quickly calmed herself before chiding the voice. “Sothis! What the hell?!”

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you?!” Sothis shouted from the throne in Byleth’s mind.

“It’s only been two weeks! I was about ready to give up when you didn’t show!” At this point, Byleth was clearly furious. 

“Wait, oh yeah…” Sothis chuckles with embarrassment. “Time moves differently between worlds. Also, when did you get so snappy?”

Byleth chose not to answer that question, asking instead, “So, what made you think that leaving me to my own devices was a good idea?”

“I told you, I was going to find answers elsewhere because Fodlan didn’t have any. All we found here were sob stories, conspiracies, and self pity. So, I went looking. Surely you noticed something different about yourself too, yes?”

“I have,” Byleth huffed, “I have a heart.” Byleth places her hand over her chest, feeling her heartbeat slow down as she calms herself.

“When before you didn’t, correct?”

“Yes. I can also properly feel emotions, too.”

Sothis seems to gently recoil at this revelation.“Ok, that explains the outburst,” she calmly states, “but anyway, where your heart is now, once sat a Crest, specifically the Crest of Flames, yes?”

“Where are you going with this?”

“What I’m saying, is that at the end of the third timeline, I noticed the Crest had gone missing, and once we tried for a fourth timeline, the crest had returned, but it had changed.”

“Are you saying I no longer possess the Crest?”

“Not in the slightest. You still possess it, but rather than being a part of your body, it’s become a part of your soul. Something must’ve happened when we jumped into the last timeline that fused it with you in a new way.”

Byleth closed her eyes in thought, pondering what Sothis had just said. Byleth gave her response, saying, “If that’s the case, that means your free, right?”

“No, what that means is that I’m no longer restricted to just your head.”

“Just my head?”

“Before, all I could do was sit on this throne all day and watch the world through your eyes, and intervene with a Divine Pulse every so often. But now that the crest isn’t using all of its power to keep you alive, I have the freedom to move about this world and other worlds; however, the best I can do in this state is sit and watch. I can’t do anything to physically interact with what I am seeing, and I’m still tied to you. If you call, I can respond, and my continued existence is tied to your survival. It’s so liberating to move about on my own, though.”

‘Sothis seems happy to be able to move about freely now, but I need her if I hope to save everyone,’ Byleth thought to herself. ‘If she can venture out like she claims, then she might be able to find things I’ve overlooked in the past.’

Sothis changed the topic, “So, where and when are we?”

Byleth looked to the tent flap and quietly peaked out of it. She saw several more familiar tents that belonged to her father’s mercenaries. They were set up in an open field, with a small stream nearby. It was near dawn, the sky slowly shifting red to the east. She instantly knew where she was. 

“One day.”

“‘One day’? I don’t recall anywhere na-“

Byleth, after returning inside the tent, interrupted, “No, we are one day away from Remire Village, from meeting them.”

“Meeting them?” Sothis’ eyes widened with realization, “Oh, you mean the future ruiners of Fodlan! You really need to work on your aim.”

“Does it really matter, we have extra time to iron out my plan, so- wait, ‘ruiners of Fodlan,’ and what do mean I need to work on my aim?” Byleth’s mood soured quickly. 

“You jumped too far, I may be partially to blame because I was the one that always stopped the Divine Pulse, and don’t tell me I’m wrong about calling them ‘ruiners,’ because you know I’m not! But do tell me this plan you mentioned.”

Byleth knew right then and there that this was going to be a long year. 

\--------------

Edelgard couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Ever since she woke up that morning, she felt some kind of presence lurking… somewhere. To say it was in the shadows felt wrong. It felt like it wasn’t trying to hide; as if it was trying to be noticed, but no one could see it. None of the others seemed bothered by this; at least, no one seemed to care. 

Edelgard quickly took stock of everyone who was marching: Several Knights of Seiros, among them the captain Alois; one of the professors, whose name escapes her for the moment; Claude, leader of the Golden Deer house; and prince Dimitri, leader of the Blue Lions. None of them seemed to be casting this weird presence she felt. Maybe the bandits she hired have arrived earlier than planned. If they did, then why are they waiting to strike? Now would be perfect, as the group had stopped at a fork in the road to rest up for the final leg of the journey towards Remire Village. Alois and the professor were arguing over which direction led to Remire, the knights were mingling among themselves, and Dimitri and Claude were making their way towards her. ‘Wait, oh shit.’

“Well you seemed rather distant for most of the march. Care to talk about it?” Claude was the first to speak, wiping his dark hair back with his hand. Edelgard couldn’t help but feel like he had little concern for her, more feigned curiosity in an effort to make conversation. Dimitri though…

“If something’s bothering you, you know you can talk to us.” Dimitri seemed a little  _ too  _ concerned, his blue eyes betraying his overall countenance. 

She  _ could  _ lie to them, tell them it’s nothing to worry about, but she also figures if the attack goes wrong, it’d be better to get a good character judgment out of them before returning to the monastery. This will likely be one of the few times she will work with them for the rest of the year. Quickly making up her mind, she says, “It might be nothing, but I can’t shake the feeling we are being watched.”

Claude was quick with a response, smiling slyly, “Well, last I heard, there might be wolves in the area, and they tend to focus on the weakest members of a herd, so…” 

“Are you saying I’m weak?” Edelgard says, glaring a hole right through his soul.

“Relax, it’s only a rumor. Besides, wolves tend to avoid humans, especially if they’re in a large group like this.” Claude’s response only seems to make Edelgard more irritated. ‘That’s it, when the attack happens, I’ll use him as a meat shield.’ Edelgard thinks to herself. 

Edelgard notices Dimitri is about as amused by Claude as she is. “That’s a rather sick joke to make in front of the future empress,” defends Dimitri, “Although, there have been  _ confirmed _ reports of bandits in the surrounding regions, so it would be best to keep our guard up.” Edelgard noticed an odd familiarity in the way Dimitri spoke. It almost reminded her of… someone. As visions of the masked men and her damned uncle began to appear, she quickly changed topic.

“I can’t help but notice our professor has yet to tell us why we are going to Remire Village, any thoughts?” It takes all of Edelgard’s willpower to keep her voice steady. Dimitri and Claude fail to notice her sudden unease as they begin giving their theories, but she hardly listens to them. Instead, her thoughts drift to the events soon to take place. Bizarre presences or not, her plan would soon be set in motion. All that had to happen was for these two to tragically fall in battle, and the rest of her work can continue without issue. Otherwise, it was going to be a long year for her.

\--------------

Byleth finished checking in at the inn in Remire Village. Sothis, after giving her two cents about Byleth’s spur-of-the-moment plan, had gone silent once again for the remainder of the day. The plan in question was simple. Phase one: meet the students. Phase two: get them all to work together, either willingly or unwillingly. Phase three: depends on how phase two goes. Phase four: Profit. 

Byleth flopped on the bed in her room with an undignified huff. It was surprisingly difficult keeping an emotionless face while trekking, between aching feet and a small burn on her fingers when she tried to extinguish her lamp earlier in the morning. Pain was nothing new to her, but the  _ emotions  _ were. Trying to not look discomforted was irritating, and her irritation only made it worse. Her father, Jeralt, asked several times if everything was alright, and she wouldn’t be surprised if he came in here to check on her again. ‘Wait, that happens anyway,’ she remembers. Thinking of her father brought back memories of his past deaths, and reminds Byleth of how painful it was to watch him go. She feels few tears run down her cheek as each one plays in her mind. ‘I need to save him this time, even if it means I take the blade in his stead.’ She composes herself as she runs through every possible outcome in her head. 

“Well, everything seems to be going as it should,” Sothis does little to announce her presence in Byleth’s head and gets straight to the point. “The house leaders have just set up camp, and the bandits are already moving in swiftly. It’ll still be about thirty minutes before you meet them again, though.”

Byleth nods to herself while Sothis is explaining, before asking her question, “While you’re out of my head, can anyone else actually sense you, or are you just some unknowable ghost or something?” The question was bugging her since she left the camp site and Sothis didn’t let her ask at the time.

“As far as I can tell, only Edelgard is picking up on me. I don’t plan on talking to her directly, if it is possible, but we won’t be able to tail her this way. She was really jumpy when I was around.” This disappoints Byleth. ‘Of all the people we need to watch, she was the most important.’ Sothis continues, “However, I have found something interesting.”

“Interesting how?” This piques Byleth’s curiosity.

“I know I can’t read thoughts besides your own and even then it’s only while I have you in here with me, but I have found I can read emotions very well. The fun part is that I can read Edelgard’s emotions from up to one hundred feet away, while everyone else is about twenty to thirty feet. Hell, I can just about make out her nervousness as the attack is about to begin from here.” Sothis was rather proud of finding this out.

Byleth pieced the information together and discovered a workable theory. “You don’t suppose that you can only sense Edelgard so well because she too carries the Crest of Flames?” Byleth was still coming to terms with this, even though she learned this two timelines ago. 

Sothis ponders this for a moment, before giving her answer, “That could work. My theory is that it’s because she just has two crests within her. Remember, I can only hear your thoughts, not her’s.” 

“In that case, we’ll know for certain when we meet Lysithea then. By your theory, you should sense her before anyone else once we are near the monastery.” 

“Exactly my thoughts as well. Anyway, we have about, say, twenty five minutes to kill now, and nothing to kill that time with, soooo...” Sothis draws a blank on what to do for the time being. 

“Didn’t you say something about visiting other worlds?” Byleth wanted to know what Sothis had found on her apparent two year journey to these other worlds.

“Well, I started to learn how to sing while I was traveling, and this one world had an immense library of music. Care to listen?” Sothis asked with a smug grin.

“Sure, go ahead,” Byleth quickly affirms. ‘Besides, she had two years, it can’t be that bad.’

Little did Byleth know, Sothis had made very detailed mental reports on the music of this world; and thanks to her newfound abilities, she could conjure up entire orchestras and bands to fulfil her musical desire. The music started solemnly, a storm seemingly brewing in Byleth’s mind. This caught her off guard. She could recognize the drums, those were unmistakable, but many of the other instruments, she couldn’t put a name to them. The instruments faded with the storm remaining. Before Byleth could say anything, the music returned, following a set rhythm and keeping a steady pace, where before it seemed slow and random. As Byleth began to relax, Sothis began singing, and Byleth would regret her decision for the rest of her life.

\--------------

Dimitri damned his luck to the deepest pits of Hell. Not only did his ‘friend’ Felix have nothing good to say upon arrival; not only did Edelgard brush him off like she didn’t even know him; not only did the professor take off at the first sign of danger; here he was, cornered by a tree as three thuggish looking men brandished a pair of crude, rusted swords and a splintered wood cutter’s ax, intent on taking the young prince’s life. However, as the heir to the throne of Faerghus, he had spent the better part of his childhood with a lance in his hands. 

The bandit with the ax lunged towards Dimitri, bringing his weapon high above his head, foolishly leaving a clear opening for Dimitri to thrust the business end of his lance right into the collar bone of the would be assailant before slashing down, severing the bandits ax arm from his body. As the bandit fell to the ground, Dimitri changed his grip on the lance, swiftly flipping the blade and catching the next attacker in the throat. With one last change of stance, Dimitri brought the lance back close as he charged the last assailant, his crest beginning to ignite. However, before he could reach him, an arrow struck the bandit between the eyes, causing him to fall flat on his back, unmoving. 

Dimitri heard Claude shouting behind him. “Come on, your princliness. Remire shouldn’t be too far from here.” Dimitri whipped around to find Claude and Edelgard already running from the ensuing battle. Dimitri sprinted their way to catch up. 

The three of them continued to run through the forest, hopefully towards Remire Village. Dimitri risked looking back, only to find several bandits had indeed started to follow them, and one of them began barking orders to the others. Whoever they are, they were intent on taking the future leaders of Fodlan. 

‘If we make it out of this alive, it’s going to be a long year.’ Dimitri thought to himself as they neared Remire, spotting what they hoped was a friendly mercenary. 

\--------------

“If I ever have to hear you sing again, I might just have to throw myself off the Goddess Tower at the monastery!” Byleth was not at all relaxed nor happy about the abysmal performance Sothis just gave. 

Sothis pouted while sitting on her throne, saying, “Well, I spent nearly two years traveling, the least you can do is show some respect for the arts.” Byleth just buried her head in her pillow, praying that the horrid voice would soon fade. After the fresh memory fails to go away, Byleth gets out of the bed and stands at the window, letting out a huff when she opens it, but as she leaned out the window, she spots several people running down the road. Her breath catches in her throat when she recognizes the distinct uniforms; one red, one blue, and one a golden yellow. 

“They’re here,” Byleth whispers softly. Four times, she watched them bring Fodlan to ruin. Three times, she watched two of them die, and the other simply walk away. And now, here they were, running to her father’s mercenaries for help once again. She quickly fought back tears as the memories threatened to consume her. ‘Not yet, they don’t know you yet. Just wait and be patient.’

Sothis seems perplexed more than anything as she noticed something off. She asks, “Isn’t Jeralt supposed to have come in here to give you a pep talk or something? I don’t remember the house leaders running in first then you talking to him.” 

Byleth takes note of this inconsistency as well, but instead of responding to Sothis verbally, she simply walks to her door and opens it, finding the hallway empty. One of her father’s mercenaries runs up the nearby stairs, catches sight of Byleth, and sprints towards her. She drops all emotion from her face, if only to keep suspicions about her low. 

“Byleth, have you seen Jeralt, it’s urgent.” says the merc. Byleth gives no verbal response, instead looking towards her father’s room. The merc makes his way to the door and throws it open. “Jeralt, we have a problem. You’re needed at the entrance.”

Jeralt exits the room with the merc in tow. Byleth falls in line behind them, carefully keeping her emotions in check. ‘No need to get worked up .You’ve done this before,’ she thinks to herself. They reach the entrance where another of Jeralt’s mercenaries are waiting, with the house leaders standing behind them. Byleth fails to keep the surprise in her eyes from showing, but otherwise remains neutral. She tunes out the conversation as she looks each house leader over. 

Dimitri: tallest in the group; blond hair; carries a lance; smiling at the prospect of having finally found help; his blue eyes showing minor sleep deprivation, a sign of the distinct, disturbed lines of thought coursing through his mind.

Claude: Middle height; permanent smile (in her experience, he always had to force a frown on his face); dark hair; wields a bow; tanner than most anyone else she’s met; the same friendly green eyes she had longed to see again.

Edelgard: shortest among them (and doomed to remain the shortest); long, off-white hair; pale-violet eyes; carries an ax; forcing a smile as the plan she had made falls to pieces. 

There was little to mistake this time. Byleth had spent enough time with these students to have them read like a book. Even though she wanted nothing more but to embrace them, she kept herself neutral. Now was not the right time to reveal herself, especially in front of her father.

Byleth’s line of thought is interrupted as a town guardsman alerts them to the approaching bandits. Not wasting time, they all quickly ready their weapons for the upcoming battle. ‘This will be a piece of cake,’ she thinks to herself, daring to let a faint grin adorn her face.

\--------------

Claude happened to glance at the last second at the blue haired woman who had joined them. He caught the faint grin she had, a  _ knowing  _ grin. ‘She knows something we don’t.’ Claude knows when someone is keeping a secret. He has seen it in Edelgard since they’d met, he has seen it in Dimitri, he’s even seen it in the Archbishop herself. Everyone has secrets, and his own are carefully guarded behind an impenetrable wall. 

But this woman (and quite the woman she is) was almost unreadable. Her expression was void of any emotion, not even when the guard called out the bandits. That faint grin was almost missed had he not looked when he did, and it told everything. While her expression in this battle was just as neutral as before, every swing of her sword, every punch she delivered was almost choreographed, like she had been in this exact battle dozens of times before. Of course, he had to focus on his own fight, sending arrows flying at every bandit who dared cross his line of sight. But every chance he got, his eyes drifted right back to her, picking apart every step in her dance of death. 

As the bandits dropped like flies, the apparent leader made a charge towards Edelgard, the latter having tripped over a stray branch. Before Claude could notch another arrow, the blue haired woman placed herself between the leader and Edelgard, catching his arm with her blade and tearing right though. The man howls with pain, and commands his allies to retreat into the woods as he cradles his fresh stump. 

‘Yep, I think I’ve fallen for her.’ Claude thinks, ‘If she wants to join us at the academy, it will make the year just that much better.’

\--------------

Byleth catches her breath whilst staring at the freshly severed limb. She feels an odd churning in her stomach as nausea begins to build. She averts her eyes and turns back to Edelgard. “Are you alright,” she asks, reaching her free hand towards the princess, her mask of indifference gone, replaced by genuine concern.

“I’m fine, thanks to you,” Edelgard responds gratefully, taking Byleth’s hand and pulling herself up. Claude and Dimitri, both exhausted from having fought two battles that night, slowly jog towards the two women.

“That was incredible what you did, ma’am,” praises Dimitri. “We never got your name before the fight, though.”

“My name is Byleth Eisner. I don’t believe I got yours, either.” Byleth responds with a faint grin. She didn’t need to ask them again, but it was better to keep up appearances than show what she already knew of them. 

Dimitri goes first, “Oh, do pardon us. I am Prince Dimitri Alexander Blaiddyd of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus.”

Edelgard follows quickly, “I am Princess Edelgard von Hresvelg of the Adrestian Empire.”

Claude goes last, “And I am Claude von Riegan of the Leicester Alliance. No fancy title from me.”

Byleth doesn't even try to hide her grin with her reply, “Well, it certainly is a pleasure to meet you all, and a bit surprising, given your ranks.” 

Dimitri gives a brief explanation, “We are actually students of Garreg Mach Monastery Officers Academy. We just so happen to be attending the same year together. One of our professors had taken us out for a little excursion, but then we got attacked by those bandits. We don’t know where he went off to though.”

Edelgard follows up, “There were a group of knights with us as well, but I’m not sure if-” 

A sudden intruder cuts her off before she can continue. “Oh, there you are! I was worried the bandits had made off with you three!” Alois, the current captain of the Knights of Seiros, caught all four of them by surprise. Byleth keeps her sword hand from drawing more blood. ‘Maybe I should put this away,’ Byleth thinks as she slides the sword home in its sheath. 

Before Alois could press any questions into the students, he caught sight of Jeralt. “Wait, Captain Jeralt? Is it really you?” Byleth noticed her father had been staring at her; a small grin had appeared on his face. But, when Alois announced his presence, that grin was replaced by pure horror. Alois rushes to him as he tries to look for an easy escape, but more Knights emerge from the woods, battered but very much alive as they, too, recognize their former captain. 

Byleth is forced to wear a look of surprise when the students turn back to look at her. “Were you aware of his rank before now?” Claude askes. 

“I knew he was trained well, but never knew of… this,” Byleth answers, waving her hand towards a now overwhelmed Jeralt as Alois and the Knights bombard him with question after question. 

As the four of them drink in the site of Jeralt slowly losing any semblance of sanity as Alois begs for him to return to the monastery, Sothis pipes up for the first time since the start of the battle, “Well, first, you didn’t even need me to save you this time, that’s a plus; second, they are actually warming up to you faster than the previous times you met them. At this rate, saving Fodlan will be a breeze.” Although Byleth wishes she could respond to Sothis right now, she was happy enough to watch as her father finally caves to Alois’ demands to return to the monastery. ‘And he thinks he has a long year ahead of him.’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, me and my infinite brilliance only just realized I've been spelling Claude's name wrong the entire time. Kill me now so help me God.  
> Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I promise it gets better as time goes on as I'm still new to this, so, criticism is welcome. Again, sporadic updates to be expected, so, I'll see you all next time.  
> Update: Updates will occur every Monday


	3. In Too Deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We're trying this one more time."-Sum 41

After conducting a thorough search of the surrounding forest in Remire for any further bandits, the myriad of Knights, mercenaries, and house leaders made their way towards Garreg Mach Monastery. The trip was largely uneventful as any wild beast or would be criminal wouldn’t dare attack such a large and well armed group of people. Most of the time, Byleth was either making small talk with the ‘ruiners’ of Fodlan (Sothis still insisted on calling them that) or was saving Jeralt from another of Alois’ question bombardments. 

The entourage had set up camp about one half day’s march from Garreg Mach, and Byleth was about to go and collect firewood when Jeralt catches her before leaving. 

“Hey, do you think we can talk for a minute, kid?” Jeralt asked, “I have a few questions I need to ask.” 

Byleth wasn’t sure what her father could possibly want, but proceeded to go along with him for now.“Um, sure. Go ahead.”

“Ok. I just need to ask, have you been feeling alright?”

Byleth gently recoiled at the question. ‘Am I feeling alright? What kind of question is that?’ Byleth answers, “I’m feeling fine. I’m not sure what could be wrong.”

Jeralt shakes his head, stating, “Oh no, nothing’s wrong, it’s just I’ve noticed you’ve been acting, eh, different recently.”

Byleth realized her father had caught on to her sudden change. Knowing that she couldn’t tell the truth, she comes up with an excuse. “Well, I’ve never really had the opportunity to meet anyone close to my age. Meeting Dimitri, Claude and Edelgard was different from meeting the usual people we meet.” 

Sothis was unimpressed by Byleth’s excuse. “Is that really the best you can come up with?”

Jeralt, however, seemed less doubtful. “I guess that explains your recent behavior, but… ah it’s nothing. Just, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know.” After he finished, Jeralt walked over to a few mercenaries and began assigning them to a guard rotation. Byleth takes the opportunity to go and look for suitable firewood. 

“I can’t believe he bought that,” sighed Sothis, “You said ‘meet’ three times in that last sentence. And aren’t some of the mercenaries close to your age anyway?”

Byleth keeps a hushed voice when she responds, “Well what did you want me to say, ‘Sorry, I can suddenly feel emotions and I have a voice in my head?’ He would tie me up and run to the hills before we get near the monastery. You know how he feels about Rhea. Also, the mercenaries are different. They are employed by my father for money, and have no interest in talking unless it deals with money. The _students_ are about the closest thing I have to actual friends right now.”

Sothis rolls her eyes at how Byleth emphasized ‘students’. “You know, if you want to just call them ‘students’, it’s fine. I’m not making you call them ‘ruiners,’ that’s just what I want to call them.” 

Byleth just shakes her head and continues looking for burnable wood. 

\--------------

The next morning dawns, and the group has already gathered their supplies from the night before, and Alois sent a messenger ahead to prepare for their arrival.The march continues uneventfully like the days before, with only a stray wolf shadowing them, much to Claude’s amusement and Edelgard’s irritation. Byleth spends most of her time alone, however, thinking over how this year could go. On one hand, everything could work out perfectly and war is averted, or things could go horribly wrong and _everyone_ dies this time, including herself. As she weighs the possibilities in her head, she spots the monastery in the distance. ‘Almost there.’

She edges away from the group, taking up the rear so she can talk to Sothis. She keeps a hushed whisper when she speaks, “Hey, do you mind going on ahead and putting your theory to the test?”

Sothis (who, incidentally, just woke up from a nap) could only respond groggily, “Hmmmm, what theory again?”

Irritation is audible in Byleth’s whispers, “You know, your two crest theory about Edelgard and Lysithea.”

“Oh yeah,” Sothis perks up as she remembers, “Just give me about, say, five minutes, possibly ten and I’ll have an answer for you.”

“Go for it.” Byleth doesn't get a response, and she hurries her pace and rejoins the group. Byleth can hear the house leaders begin discussing whether or not Byleth would be accepted as a new student in the academy. ‘If only they knew.’

The march continues as they pass a small town and begin approaching the main gate to Garreg Mach Monastery. Several guards on the ramparts offer their greetings to Alois and the other knights before they, too, recognize the former captain, all but rushing out the gate to meet them. The dismayed gatekeeper could only hold his head in his hands as the gate got loosened just enough from its hinge and jams partially opened. All Byleth could do is offer a sympathetic glance at the poor gatekeeper. ‘Maybe I should learn his name this time. It would be nice to have a friend who isn’t a student. Or another professor for that matter.’ She had always made it a point to visit the gatekeeper in the past, but never bothered to ask his name in all those timelines. 

Just as the house leaders were dismissed by Alois and he began to lead Jeralt and Byleth to Rhea’s audience chamber, Sothis returned with her report. “Well, while I certainly did sense Lysithea before anyone else, the distance this time was only about thirty to forty feet, as opposed to Edelgard’s one hundred feet. I also did everything I could to make myself noticeable, and she hardly batted an eye. I would say she can keep a good poker face, but her emotions didn’t even change while I was near, while Edelgard was jumpier than a rabbit in a wolf convention.”

Byleth moves away from Alois and Jeralt as Sothis explains what she found but her face scrunches up at Sothis’ chosen words. Keeping her voice low, she says “‘Poker face’? ‘Wolf Convention’? What in the hell do you mean by that?”

Sothis explains casually, “‘Poker face’ and ‘Convention’ were terms I picked up on while traveling. Apparently, poker is a form of gambling with cards and whoever has the best cards wins. To keep a ‘poker face’ means you become unreadable, and you’re able to bluff your way to victory. At least, I think that’s how it works. As for ‘convention’ it’s just a large gathering of people or other such creatures. Apparently one of the worlds has bipedal, multicolored wolves that gather about once or twice a year for these conventions, though I have seen humans gather for other reasons. This example just sticks out in my mind.”

Byleth closes her eyes as she tries to imagine what Sothis just explained. ‘Bipedal, multicolored wolves? That just sounds wrong for some reason.’ 

“Hey, kid. You alright?” Jeralt had noticed Byleth was lagging behind. Byleth curses in her head before jogging to catch up. She hardly has time to look at her future students as they stare at her. 

“Sorry, just got distracted by this place,” Byleth states. 

“Well, get used to it,” Alois quickly responds, “Apparently Lady Rhea wants to reinstate Jeralt as the captain of the knights and she also has special plans for you as well, miss Byleth.”

‘No point in delaying this.’ Byleth stands ever so slightly straighter as they take the stairs that lead to the audience chamber. 

\--------------

Not much later in the day, one of the student dorm rooms was quiet, containing only sparse decoration. An open, but empty, trunk sat on the once neatly made bed. A nearby desk held only a quill, a pot of ink, some loose paper, and an open book on battle ax techniques. The dresser was also slightly open, having been sifted through. The silence of the room, however, was broken when a pillar of flame erupted from the empty space on the floor, and out of that flame stepped a figure in dark armor, wearing a white and red mask. The mask, however, is violently removed by the wearer and thrown into the empty trunk, revealing a thoroughly pissed Edelgard. 

While she thanks her few remaining lucky stars that the armor could fit easily over her school uniform, she couldn’t take it off any faster. A slew of curses came forth from her, only finalized with a scream of frustration as she shoves the now full and closed trunk back under her bed and slams her upper body into her mattress. 

‘It should’ve been so simple. Just kill the other house leaders, but that fucking Leichester boy just had to insist on running and just had to save FUCKING DIMITRI!’ Edelgard rants silently in her head to avoid being overheard, but her rage was still palpable. As Edelgard stews in her anger, a short knocking is heard at her door. “Who is it? She asks, painfully holding her anger in as she turns her head to the door.

“It’s Hubert, your highness. May I come in?” Hubert. The only other student in this entire academy that knew what was truly going on. She quickly makes her bed neat again and closes her dresser before opening the door and hurrying her only friend in. After she closes her door, she turns back to him. His usually sinister yellow eyes wore a look of mild surprise when he turned back to Edelgard, but his gaze quickly returned to normal. “Can I safely assume that the plan failed then?”

Edelgard huffs at Hubert's observation. “Of course it didn’t work!” She shouts, ”Did you not see the other leaders walking in like nothing happened!” 

Hubert brings a finger to his down-turned lips. Edelgard chides herself for letting her rage get the better of her. As she calmed herself down, Hubert resumed speaking, “I’m sure that the scoundrels you hired will be dealt with in time. For now, let’s just be grateful that you made it out unharmed by this, shall we say, incident.” 

‘Hubert’s right. It was a doomed plan anyway.’ Edelgard wanted to deal with the other house leaders quickly, but her poor judgment nearly cost her her own life. She would not make the same mistake again. 

“Did the meeting go well?” Hubert asked, noticing the faint indentations on Edelgard's face left by the mask. 

“There was no meeting,” Edelgard admits, “I just had to tie up a loose end.”

“You… didn’t take care of those bandits yourself, did you?” Hubert said, his concern noticeable. 

“No, not all of them. Just their leader.” Edelgard started to grin evilly. “He had lost his arm in the battle to the mercenary named Byleth Eisner, the apparent daughter of former captain Jeralt Eisner. I just decided rather than wait for him to be discovered by the Church, I’d finished the job. I needed to vent, and he was useless to us now. Better him dead and those bandits left in disarray than having to face him later.”

Hubert nervously runs his hand through his pitch black hair before he responds, “That is awfully direct of you. What if you were discovered? Everything we are working towards would be for naught.” 

Edelgard, now in a better mood, only responds with “What’s done is done, and nothing can change it. We’d best return to our classmates before they miss us.” Hubert can only give a look of worry as they walk towards the classrooms. 

\--------------

Dimitri, after getting an earful from an overly concerned Dedue, was quietly sitting in the Blue Lions’ classroom. His friends and other classmates were just outside, eager to meet Byleth. A rumor had started that she would replace the former professor that had run away in Remire. He had seen her fight in that battle. While, yes, her beauty was striking to attracted eyes, what really caught his eye was how perfectly she fought. Every bandit was deftly parried, every arrow was skillfully dodged. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve said she was more skilled than Jeralt, who spent most of the battle defending the left flank, while Byleth ran up the center. Her title of ‘Ashen Demon’ was well deserved.

“Boar, can you hear me!”

Dimitri winces as Felix shouts in his ear. He, Ingrid, and Sylvain had entered the classroom and had approached where Dimitri sat. Dimitri quickly apologizes. “Sorry, sorry, just thinking about the raid in Remire.” 

Felix scoffs at his apology and instead gets straight to his point, pulling another seat close and sitting down. “What do you think of this ‘Byleth’ everyone keeps talking about? You really think she’ll become a professor?”

Ingrid offers her thoughts, “I hope she’s as skilled as everyone says. Imagine just how much stronger we could become as her students.”

Sylvain gives his two cents, “I’ve heard she is giving Manuela a run for her money when it comes to her appearance. I can appreciate Manuela, but she’s older than us. I’ve heard Byleth, however, is closer to our age.” 

Ingrid elbows Sylvain in the chest at his comment. “Are you really thinking of the new professor like that?! She could probably pin you to a wall and skin you alive for it!” As Ingrid and Sylvain spark a new argument over proper etiquette, _again_ , Dimitri can’t help but chuckle at his friends' antics. Felix just sighs before turning back to Dimitri.

“Please tell me you have more sense than Sylvain, boar.” Felix says, poison present in his voice. Dimitri has tried repeatedly to get Felix to stop calling him that, but to no avail.

“While Sylvain is not wrong, per say, I have seen her in battle. If she becomes our new professor, we will benefit greatly from her experience. I have no doubt she can give you a run for your money when it comes to sword fighting.” Dimitri states. Felix prides himself on his abilities with a sword. To have a worthy opponent for once brings slight excitement to Felix’s eyes. Dimitri notices a faint grin appearing on his face.

“If what you say is true, then I do look forward to this next year.” Felix says, before a frown returns to where it should be. “But that is only if she chooses to teach our class. There are two other houses here; for all we know, she will become the professor for the Golden Deer, or worse, the Black Eagles.”

Dimitri mulls over the possibility. If Byleth does choose to teach another house, they would be at a distinct disadvantage. But knowing his friends, they will probably brush it off as another obstacle they need to overcome, and Felix is the firecest among them. ‘Well, firecest when not depending on a crest.’ Dimitri shudders slightly as memories of the last time he used his crest come to mind. 

Dimitri hears the voices outside grow louder, and he turns to see Byleth walking through the courtyard. “Hey, that’s her,” he points, getting his friends attention, “Come on, I’ll introduce you all.” 

\--------------

Byleth had finished meeting the Golden Deer in their classroom, and had come to the courtyard to refresh her memory as to who was in the other houses. ‘After four timelines, I would’ve thought I’d remember them all by now.’ 

“Uh, By, watch your nine.” Sothis quickly warned.

‘My nine? Wha-’

“Ugh, your left! Watch your left!” Sothis commands, almost jumping on her throne.

Byleth throws a cursory glance left and sees Dimitri approach with his friends in tow. Byleth quickly scans over the three.

Felix: Black hair; orange eyes judging her; a near permanent frown (unlike Claude, she hardly seen Felix even so much as grin)

Ingrid: Long, braided yellow hair; deep green eyes; her somewhat stiff stance portraying her ambitions to become a knight

Sylvain: Spiked red hair; brown eyes scanning every inch of her; his stance casual and unnerving(?)

Byleth couldn’t place it, but her newfound emotions told her to _avoid_ Sylvain for some reason. Her discomfort was visible as Ingrid elbows him.

“Sylvain, stop staring, you’re making her uncomfortable.” When Sylvain doesn’t stop, Ingrid huffs and pulls him away, scolding him as she does so. 

Dimitri could only hold his head in his hand as Felix spoke up. “I do apologize for that, Sylvain just doesn’t know when to think with the head between his shoulders.”

This makes Byleth blush slightly as Dimitri turns to glare at Felix, “That doesn’t help, Felix.” 

“I’m only telling the truth. Better for her to know where his mind is at most of the time now than when class starts, boar.” 

‘Oh, if only he knew,’ Byleth silently thinks to herself as Dimitri begins introductions, once Sylvain is put in his place.

\--------------

Byleth walks briskly down the reception hall towards the stairs that would take her to Rhea’s audience chamber. She had met all the students she could. Sothis had little else to say after she alerted her to Dimitri’s presence, only offering the occasional chuckle or groan of disgust.

Byleth could hear her humming another song; this one a little more upbeat than before, and a lot less horrific sounding now that she’s just humming, though Byleth could just make out a few of the words.

“Hm bu n tu dee n mm buh t kee up abv n mi hea, nste of goin nder.” Sothis seemed happy enough, so Byleth didn’t bother her, though she did quietly ask her to stop once they reached the chamber. 

Byleth enters, finding Manuela and Hanneman still standing before the throne, upon which Rhea sat patiently with Seteth standing next to her silently. Byleth approaches her slowly as Rhea speaks.

“I trust you took the time to meet with the students and get to know them a bit more.” she says, her eyes smiling as brightly as her mouth.

“Yes, I have. I must say, I wasn’t expecting such a diverse number of nobles and commoners to be present.” Byleth responds, taking note that she was now free to express her emotions. No one remembers the past timelines she had faced, and the only one she had to watch out for was her father.

Rhea continues, “And I also trust you’ve made a decision as to who you wish to teach this year.” 

“I have, yes.” Byleth quickly replies.

Manuela speaks up, “Well, do tell us, darling. I wish to know who will be available for myself this year as well.”

Hanneman also speaks, “As do I, Miss Byleth. Best not keep us waiting.”

Rhea, after letting the other professors say their piece, “Well, Byleth, who do you wish to teach?”

Byleth grins. She had already made her choice long before arriving at the monastery. 

\--------------

Claude sits at a table with the rest of the Golden Deer surrounding him as he recounts the battle that took place in Remire Village. Everyone was enthralled by his retelling, though Lysithea was quick to point out contradictions as he spoke.

“And as I notched another arrow, Byleth rushed out of thin air, placing herself between the bandit leader and the princess, dealing a killing blow to would be assailant. Afterwards, we began our return to the monastery,” finished Claude, looking quite proud of his work.

While everyone else cheered, Lysithea was unimpressed by the ending. “I heard from others that the bandit leader survived.” 

Claude shushes Lysithea, saying, “On no, I know what I saw, Byleth killed the bastard before he even reached her.”

“No, all I did was cut his arm off. And he was too close for comfort when I reached him,” said the sudden voice, causing everyone to jump and Claude to sit as still as a stone, eyes wide. He blinked slowly, and turned towards the voice (who turned out to be Byleth) as she continued, “I also remember the Knights of Sieros emerging from the forest and swarming my father before all but dragging him here.” Her knowing grin had returned, much to Claude’s bemusement. 

“I still can’t believe you're _the_ daughter of Jeralt Eisner!” exclaims Leonie, who Byleth had left in utter, silent shock once she told them who she was. 

“So, have you made your decision as to who you’ll teach this year, Teach?” Byleth’s grin only seems to grow at Claude’s question, much to his mute excitement.

Byleth wastes no time with her response, “Yes I have, and I look forward to spending this year with the Golden Deer.”

Claude could only grin as his fellow classmates began cheering wildly at this announcement. He would later learn that Manuela would teach the Black Eagle Students while Hanneman would teach the Blue Lions. ‘Yep, this will definitely be a fun year, indeed,’ was all he could think to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introductions over, time for fight number two.  
> In all seriousness though, Byleth having emotions opens up a world of new opportunity for the early game, and I plan on taking full advantage of that. As always, criticism is welcome and I hope you all are enjoying this fustercluck as much as I am. See you on the flip side.  
> P.S.- What consequences will then month early death of Kostas bring to the table?


	4. Unshakeable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We're bound to stand our ground it's unshakable." -Celldweller, Formal One

Although it would still be a few days until classes actually began after the mock battle tomorrow, Byleth was already getting her lesson plans together in her room. The bulletin board was empty save for the calendar, but Byleth had filled out paperwork and drafted battle plans to be pinned to the board. As she worked, she could hear Sothis entertaining herself. After making her swear never to sing again, Sothis decided to just conjure up phantom musicians to do the singing for her. It was far more bearable than Sothis’ attempts, but…

**“He was made to rule the waves across the seven seas!”**

The song Sothis had chosen was a little too distracting. It was loud, busy, and exhausting. For Byleth, it was the only right sounding way to describe it. Sothis said it’s name was ‘Bismarck,’ an apparent war ship so mighty and strong it earned the distinction of ‘he’ as opposed to ‘she’. Byleth had heard the song several times now, and a few of the later lyrics suggested the ship sank. ‘If he’s so mighty, then why did he sink?’ She had asked Sothis this and didn’t get a response, just more of the same song again. 

“Uhm, Sothis,” Byleth asks, “Do you mind playing a song that’s a little less… distracting?” The sound in her mind abruptly stops. 

“Sorry, I’m just absolutely in love with this song, but I think I can find one that’s less fun,” says Sothis, her voice oozing with sarcasm. 

Byleth just sighs her response, “It’s not that I don’t like it, I’m just trying to focus and ‘Bismarck’ isn’t helping. Maybe that ‘Interstellar’ or ‘Beethoven’ could help me concentrate better.” 

“Ugh, fiiiine,” Sothis groans, “but before I strike up the band again, I have an idea. Care to listen?”

“Shoot.”

“OK, I’ve noticed how in combat, the fighting participants are following a rhythm, like in a dance. I’m sure you’ve noticed this, yes?”

“I have. I noticed it more when I taught Dorothea. It was almost like she was fighting to a song she had sung.”

“Exactly. I won’t make you do it in actual combat, yet, but in the upcoming mock battle, I want to try using music to improve your combat rhythm. Would you allow me the opportunity to do this?”

Byleth ponders this. ‘Using music to improve my combat rhythm?’ Byleth never believed herself to be a poor fighter. If anything, at this point, she was superior to everyone in the academy, even Jeritza (oh, how she looked forward to fighting him again). ‘Then again, it’s just the mock battle.’

Byleth gives her answer, “Ok, I’ll do it, but only for the mock battle. If it works, maybe we can do it more.”

Sothis excitedly pumps her fist in the air while saying “Yes, just what I wanted to hear. OK, time to bore myself again.”

Byleth closed her eyes as a soft pipe organ billows in her mind. ‘Much better,’ she thinks as she returns to her lesson planning. 

\--------------

Bernadetta was sitting quietly in her room, carefully knitting a new scarf. It was supposed to be a blanket, but she had accidentally made it far too narrow, and just decided to make it longer than planned. It’s not that she needed a scarf now, with summer just around the corner, she just didn’t like wasting material that had already been used. Besides, this was better than having to face anyone else in the academy. She shudders at every footstep that echoes just outside her door. There was an unusually large number of footsteps today. ‘Maybe it’s just another of Jeritza’s drills again,’ she thinks to herself.

As she returns to her knitting, she hears a few more footsteps come up to her door and stop. A sharp knocking sends her straight under the covers on her mattress, and the voice that comes through only paralyzes her with fear. 

“Bernadetta von Varlery, you know what day it is. You are needed at the gate.” Hubert. Every time she encounters him, she gets a strange feeling in her gut. Like she should flee from him and run to him at the same time. His intimidating appearance didn’t help matters either. She grabs fistfulls of her purple hair as he knocks on her door once more. “Please, Bernadetta, don’t make me come in there.”

Mustering up what little courage she could, she cautiously climbs out of her bed, and slowly walks to and unlocks the door. A rather impatient Hubert easily flings the door open, much to his surprise. He blinks at the terrified girl before composing himself and speaking. “I, uh… *cough* I see you unlocked your door on your own this time.”

“S-s-s-sorry.” squeaks Bernadetta, “I was just knitting w-w-w-when you came a-a-and I-” 

Hubert cuts her off by raising his hand and says, “Let’s just consider this an improvement over last time. Now, do you know what's going on today?”

“O- oh, today, um…?” Bernadetta wracks her memory for the answer. “Uh, is… there a test?”

“Of sorts,” replies Hubert, “The mock battle is today, and we are waiting on you.”

“Eeep!” Of course, that was why everyone seemed to walk past her door. They were going to the gate for the battle. Bernadetta rushes under the safety of her bed covers again while Hubert just sighs with mild frustration. 

“You can’t keep hiding in here forever you know,” states Hubert, “Sooner or later, you’ll have to face the world on your own.” Hubert tosses the covers off Bernadetta and hefts her small frame over his shoulder. While she would normally protest this, the thought of actually having to fight for once had left her paralyzed. Not even the stares from her classmates as they reached the gate registered in her mind until Hubert dropped her to her feet. 

While he walked back to the princess, Bernadetta glanced frantically for a way to hide herself, to no avail. As her eyes darted to everyone around her, her eyes locked with the blue haired woman who called herself ‘Byleth.’ ‘She’s the Golden Deer’s professor,’ she remembers. Bernadetta noticed that Byleth was looking at her with a look of encouragement. ‘Why would she care about me. I’m not even her student.’ Even as these thoughts drifted through her mind, the thought of someone actually caring for her abated Bernadetta’s fear somewhat. Though, her fear quickly returned once the gates opened and they began marching to the field for the mock battle.

\--------------

Seteth had gathered everyone together before going over the rules for the upcoming battle.

“Everyone understands what is happening today, yes?” After a range of confirmations reached him, he continued. “Now, I need everyone to understand, this is only a test of your current abilities. I want no one dying today. That means surrendering and disarming only, so avoid direct contact with your weapons if possible. Also, for the mages, that means limit the strength of your spells. Last year we nearly had a fatality in the battle due to an errant spell, so please use extreme caution. And lastly, if you possess a crest, do **not** activate your crest. Do you have any questions on safety?” 

Ashe, the young Blue Lion boy, shot his hand up. “What about bow users?” Claude was about to ask the same thing, but held his tongue. 

Seteth looks at Ashe and gives his response. “If you use a bow in battle, a special arrow with a blunt tip will be provided before you enter the field. Again, use extreme caution. No head shots. Any further safety questions before I go over the conditions of the battle.”

Seeing no further hands shoot up, Seteth explained the rules. “Very well. Firstly, victory is achieved when all members of the opposing houses have been defeated. This includes the instructors of each house as they will also participate in the battle. Secondly, each of you has been given a white handkerchief. When you are eliminated, you are to pull out this handkerchief and hold it above your head. This will allow other remaining students to identify who has been eliminated. And lastly, if, for any reason, there is concern that the fighting is going too far, we will end the battle. Again, last year, we had an errant spell that nearly killed another student, and we ceased the battle immediately. And if you are so curious, no, we could not identify who sent the errant spell nor will we identify the injured student for you. Beyond these rules, you are free to plan your battle as you see fit. Any further questions can be answered by your instructors. When we give the signal by way of horn, the battle is to begin. You all have thirty minutes to go to your assigned starting locations and make your battle plans. I will see you all after the battle has finished. Your time begins now.”

\--------------

Jeralt sat on a hill overseeing the battlefield. He watched intently as his daughter led her house to the open field in the south. His knights were mingling among themselves, some discussing recent rumors of the western church being disruptive again, while others were placing bets on which house would win this year. Alois sat next to Jeralt, watching the Black Eagles discuss their own plans to the northeast, while Jeritza just watched the Blue Lions to the northwest. Jeralt couldn’t place it, but he had a feeling he should keep an eye on Jeritza. Although he was not part of the knights, as he’s only a combat instructor, Jeritza gave off an ominous presence, most of the time. Right now, he was unreadable, and Jeralt felt uneasy as a result. 

Alois, misinterpreting Jeralt's unease, says, “Hey captain, don’t worry about the battle, I’m sure your daughter will be fine.”

Jeralt, for his part, played off his concern well, saying, “I’m not worried about Byleth. I’m more concerned about the students.” They both fail to notice Jeritza gently turning his head towards their direction. 

Alois is puzzled by this, so Jeralt continues. “While, yes, the students are certainly experienced with their weapons, they have nearly no live combat experience. Byleth has several years worth of experience under her belt. She isn’t called ‘Ashen Demon’ for nothing.” 

Alois suddenly understands, “Oh, I see. You're worried she might hurt one of the other students. I mean, Seteth made it very clear that excessive injury is unacceptable, so, I’m sure everything will be fine.” 

Jeralt just sighs at Alois' optimism. ‘He still tries to find a silver lining to everything, doesn’t he?’ Unbeknownst to Jeralt, Jeritza turns his head back to facing the Blue Lions, silently contemplating just what was in store for when he would undoubtedly face Byleth someday. 

\--------------

Seteth watched calmly from his vantage over the battlefield, carefully counting down the time for the battle to begin. His eyes drift over each of the houses as they prepare. In his eyes, the Blue Lions were favored to win, the chemistry between four of its members was undeniably good, while the remaining students were content to follow along. His gaze then focuses on the Black Eagles. There seemed to be some dissonance between a few of them, namely Edelgard and Ferdinand. Seteth could only come to guess why these two seemed to butt heads. Whether it had something to do with the Insurrection of the Seven or just a conflict of overall interest between the two highest ranking members, he couldn’t tell. He also observed a couple other members of the Black Eagles slacking off; well, one of them at least. The other seemed more terrified than anything. 

Deciding that the Black Eagles were set to lose spectacularly, his eyes finally landed on the Golden Deer, the wildcard. Between having a new professor, a thorough mix of people from all walks of life, and no real cover in their starting position beyond a small forest nearby, Seteth initially assumed that they would suffer an early loss. However, the professor, Byleth, had rallied them together quickly and had a plan ready in about ten minutes. Since then, they have been going over a few quick warm up drills, largely to get themselves motivated and keep on their toes. If Seteth didn’t know better, he would’ve assumed that Byleth had done this before. 

Seteth couldn’t wrap his head around this woman. While he didn’t know the true reason behind Rhea’s insistence that she be made a professor, Byleth had proven to be an anomaly. He had expected Byleth to spend several hours meeting all the students in the monastery, and several more mulling over which house she would spend the year teaching, but she was finished in less than an hour and chose the Golden Deer without hesitation. If that didn’t spark his suspicion, when he went to get her earlier in the morning, he found her bulletin board was almost completely filled with lesson plans ready for the year. 

‘Why do I have a feeling that Byleth is going to be a headache this year.’ He looks up at the sun, judging its angle before grabbing the horn that would start the battle. 

\--------------

The low drone of the horn drifts over the field, and the students ready their weapons and move to their initial battle positions. The knights, having wrapped up their bets, focus their whole attention on the battle soon to commence. Jeralt, Alois and Jeritza’s attention are focused on each of the houses. Jeralt’s eyes zero in on his daughter, and would not leave her until the end of the battle. Alois’ eyes dart between each of the Black Eagles, unsure of who to watch. Jeritza’s gaze, however, focuses on only one of the Blue Lions. He hadn’t noticed them until they appeared from behind an obstacle on the field. He has a hard time making this student out from his vantage point, but he swears he knows them. ‘I’ll have to get a better look after the battle.’ 

Meanwhile, Hanneman briskly follows his students, the Blue Lions, as they charge towards a fence in the south. He decided to trust his students to make their own plan, only offering a few pointers here and there, but this also meant he allowed them to make their own mistakes. The first mistake he observed was how grossly they underestimate the Black Eagles. Rather than split into two separate groups to face two separate enemies, they decided to stick together and focus their attention on what they perceived as the greater threat, the Golden Deer. This, in turn, was how their second mistake was made. Rather than forming a defensive circle around their weaker counterparts, the strongest pushed forward in the front while the weaker followed, leaving their rear flank open. Hanneman had to bring up the rear guard, and his expertise would be of no benefit if the attacking party consisted of heavy hitters. But, Hanneman said nothing. He believed that his students should make mistakes on their own, and take the chance to learn from them now rather than be hindered, or worse, killed by them in the future.

Manuela was torn on who to follow in her class. While Edelgard would push to the south with Hubert, Petra, and Casper, Ferdinand would push west with Dorothea, Bernadetta, and Linhardt. While splitting up is the right thing to do in this particular battle, both groups were horribly imbalanced. Edelgard had gotten frustrated with Ferdinand, and decided to take the strongest among them personally once the horn blew, leaving Ferdinand to take whoever was left. Manuella decided to follow Ferdindand because he would need more help than Edelgard, and also decided to have a little chat with her once the battle was over. 

Byleth, however, watched with silent glee as her students also split into two groups. One group composed of Claude, Raphael, Lysithea, and Hilda would meet the Black Eagles, while she, Lorenz, Ignatz, Marianne, and Leonie would confront the Blue Lions. Byleth relied on the knowledge she gained from her previous time lines to form her plan. She knew the Blue Lions would want to stick together, and it took a fair amount of convincing from her just to split them up. She also knew the Black Eagles were opposite, willingly splitting up, but awfully balanced until Byleth intervened, twice. Now that she was back to her first class, she could plan her attack accordingly, playing into the strengths they already had this early. Not to mention, she had a secret spy wandering the battlefield.

Sothis, being undetectable by all but Edelgard, had relayed extra information to Byleth. From this, her assumptions were confirmed, the Blue Lions rear guard was hopelessly understaffed, while the Black Eagle’s weakest standing members pushed from behind, meaning the Golden Deer would have to face the strongest and best coordinated among the other classes. Byleth’s plan was primarily about balance. While she knew she wanted to win, she also wanted to allow her students to grow rather than rely exclusively on her the entire battle. As such, both her teams were balanced based on who they were expecting to face.

Sothis returned for good as the classes drew closer together and the battle can begin in earnest. “Welp, I think we have all the info we need for this battle. So, are you ready for our little experiment?” Sothis seemed quite eager to begin.

Byleth backs away slightly before giving her answer. “Go for it, but make sure to use the song we practiced with.”

Sothis ginned as a distorted sound began playing in Byleth’s head (Sothis called it an ‘electric’ guitar, but Byleth wondered how to get a thunder spell to coarse through a guitar without destroying it.) Byleth's new ever present grin crept bigger as the artificial voice gave it’s first verse.

_**“Unshakable!”** _

\--------------

Seteth watched the battle closely as it began to unfold. As expected, the Black Eagles who confronted the Blue Lions rear guard fell quickly, but not before taking several of the Blue Lions as well. Seteth hadn’t expected the Blue Lions to be so careless, but it showed just how much they needed to be at this academy if they hoped to inherit the Holy Kingdom. Still, the fact that an equal number of Black Eagles and Blue Lions fell surprised him. He expected no more than one or two, but Dorothea and Ferdinand managed to take out two Blue Lions each. Linhardt didn’t seem to do much besides healing a scratch that Dorothea got early in the battle, and Bernadetta shot her handkerchief up almost as soon as she was spotted by Mercedes, the Blue Lions resident faith mage. ‘The fact she cowered before the  _ only  _ non-combative Blue Lion speaks volumes of her lack of experience.’ 

Ferdinand took out Mercedes as soon as Bernadetta surrendered, and the remaining three pushed forward towards Annette and Ashe. After Ferdinand and Dorothea struggled with and eliminated them both, Manuela simply walked up to Hanneman, and, in some unspoken agreement, they flung both their handkerchiefs up together, surrendering to each other. This distracted the remaining Black Eagles enough that Felix ran up behind Lindhardt and took him down quickly. Ferdinand was slow to react and got pinned by Felix, but Dorothea had a spell ready and waiting, effectively using Ferdinand as bait, and eliminating Felix. However, Felix noticed this at the last second and ran hastily towards her. By the time the dust settled, they both had the handkerchiefs out, clear for all to see. 

Seteth, realizing that battle had resolved itself in surprising fashion, turned his attention to the ensuing battle with the remaining Black Eagles. At this point, Hubert was eliminated by Lysithea, Lysithea was then eliminated by Edelgard, Edelgard narrowly avoided elimination from HIlda, while Hilda was taken by Petra, leaving the fight three on two. But, as expected, Claude and Raphael, rather than confront the Black Eagles, had backed off into the forest. He couldn’t see clearly into there, and was about to turn his attention back to the struggle by the fence, when he saw a lone figure emerge from the forest. Edelgard. ‘So she will face them all alone, I see.’ Unbeknownst to him, Petra was picked off by Claude while Raphael handled Casper. Edelgard quickly dispatched Raphael before centering her attention on Claude. Claude, for his part, tried everything he could to stave off Edelgard and escape, but her deftness with her ax and her swift mobility made it difficult for him to track her. In the end, she reached him and delivered a surprisingly forceful blow that sent him sprawling to the ground. She curtly turned her heels and walked out of the forest while a somewhat bewildered Claude just raised his handkerchief in defeat. 

Noting the apparent victor of the Eastern struggle, Seteth’s gaze finally reached the western battle. Unsurprisingly, the Blue Lions, so far, had lost only one other member, Sylvain. Apparently, he had tried to win over Leonie with is masculine charm, but his head was quickly greeted by, not a weapon, but a fist as he said a few things that didn’t belong on the battlefield. The remaining Blue Lions charged Leonie, but were met with several arrows and spells from Marianne and Ignatz. Realizing this, Ingrid broke off and quickly stopped Ignatz while Marianne simply surrendered upon seeing her classmate defeated. That’s when Byleth emerged. But, instead of fighting wildly like he expected her to, she seemed to fight steadily, as if following a strict tempo. While her sudden appearance did catch Ingrid of guard, what confused Ingrid more was how fluid and dance-like Byleth’s motions were. Ingrid kept up with the slow rhythm, but was quickly overwhelmed when Byleth suddenly quickened, her motions remaining as coordinated as before. Meanwhile, with Leonie out of the way, Dimitri and Dedue focus their attention on Lorenz. While he stands his ground defiantly against the two Lions, he is blind to the fact that Edelgard had crept up behind him, and brought him to the ground. Dimitri is surprised by this and makes ready for battle, while Dedue takes a few steps back to watch the battle unfold. Unfortunately for them, they all fail to notice Ingrid’s defeat and Byleth places herself between the three remaining students. 

Seteth’s eyes narrow as Dimitri, Dedue, and Edelgard surround the instructor. While everyone else stood battle ready, Byleth’s stance was relaxed, her sword pointed towards the ground. They all stood for a minute before the three students charged the professor, kicking up dust and obstructing Seteth’s view of the struggle. While he craned his neck and moved from side to side trying to get a better look at the battle; the echoes of metal meeting metal could be heard. The knights, Jeralt, Alois, Seteth, and the students that immediately surrounded them watch as the dust settled, revealing Dedue kneeling on the ground with his handkerchief visible for all to see, Dimitri and Edelgard also sprawled on the ground next to each other, handkerchiefs also visible, and Byleth, standing tall, with no handkerchief. Upon seeing this, Seteth drew the horn and signaled the end of the mock battle. 

\--------------

  
Jeralt let out a sigh of relief after seeing his daughter emerge from the dust. He heard his knights cheering for his daughter's apparent victory (though, he suspected those who _did_ cheer had heavier coin purses than before.) Alois also cheers for the victory as the horn blows and the Golden deer surround their professor, their shouting audible from where the knights watched. Jeralt also watches as Dimitri and Edelgard pick themselves up. Dimitri seems to turn to the Black Eagles house leader to say something, but she had already jogged away from him towards where her classmates were gathering after the battle. Jeritza, resting his chin in his hand, had his eyes on Byleth as well. He contemplated what he had seen in the closing moments of the battle. If anything, her performance certainly piqued his interest in her, but he didn’t think she needed his full attention. ‘After all, this is only a test. Her true trials are soon to come. I’ll have to speak with the Emperor of Flames about this,’ Were his only thoughts as his eyes drift over to where Edelgard stood. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the mock battle is over and I can safely say that juggling so many characters at once is a challenge. I had to rewrite this more than once because I forgot someone.   
> Anyway, as I said, this is my first time doing this, but I just finished the next major battle, and I feel it plays out far better than this one, so I hope you all stick around for it, because it gets intense at times. Also, I have a set upload schedule! Every Monday, I'll post a new chapter, or post something that ties into the story in some way. I'll catch you all next week.


	5. Drink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Oi you, Case o' beer!"- Alestorm

Two weeks have passed since the mock battle, and it was a calm evening in the monastery. The students had all returned to their rooms for the night and the professors and staff had also turned in. Most of them, at least. 

“WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT!!!” 

Byleth had returned to her room too to finish grading the assignments for the day. In the past, grading was a breeze, just check for any right answers and correct the wrong ones. After doing it for four timelines, she thought it would’ve gotten easier. Unfortunately, she only just began to realize just how mind numbing it was to grade the papers over and over. Right now, she had finished the last few grades, and although they were promising, they showed just how much more work she’d have to do over the next year. Sothis was of little help, too. 

“ **We are here, to drink your beer…”**

Sothis had decided to ‘help’ Byleth by playing some music for her. At first, the songs were alright, it helped her concentrate and calmed her down after returning to her room. Now, however, Sothis had gotten carried away and played some ‘heavy metal’ because she got bored. This fun little song was called ‘Drink’, and Byleth seriously considered doing exactly what this song wanted, but Byleth absolutely abhorred alcohol. The one time she actually got drunk in her life left her with a headache even her life providing crest stone at the time couldn’t stomach. Jeralt hasn’t offered her a drink since. 

“Sothissss, please stooooop.” Byleth just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of the week. The music cuts off and Sothis just sighs. 

“You know, you could ask Manuela for advice, or possibly pilfer a couple of her flasks if you think that could help,” says Sothis. Just as she finishes, a soft knocking is heard. Sothis jumps out to check who it is, and quickly returns. “Well, speak of the devil. Guess who just knocked on your door.”

Byleth pushes herself out of her chair and stumbles slightly to her door. She opens the door to find the songstress turned resident doctor standing there. 

“Hello, I just couldn’t help but hear your, uh, exasperation. Is everything all right?” Manuela asks. Byleth silently chides herself for letting her frustration get to her. 

She only sighs and gives her response, “Sorry you had to hear that, I just wasn’t expecting the grading to be so dull. Not that the students aren’t any good, they’re brilliant in fact, it’s just the mountain of paperwork I have to do every night that’s getting to me.”

“It’s only natural, dear. I usually have a few drinks before I tackle my own mountain.”

‘Of paperwork, or emotions?’ Byleth doesn’t say that out loud to avoid insulting Manuela directly.

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. You wouldn’t happen to be available on the free day this weekend?” Manuela asks. In the past, Byleth had used the second free day to get an extra mock battle in with her father's knights just to see her students' overall skill level. Now, she had no need to set up another one. 

“I should be. Why?”

“Well, about once every other week, I like to go to the tavern in town and get a few drinks they don’t allow in the monastery, as well as pick up any, eh, rumors floating around. I just heard your cry and thought I’d like to invite you this time. And, before you ask, Hanneman and one other will also join us.” says Manuela. 

‘I feel like this is just her excuse to pick up another late night lover.’ Byleth weighs her options and makes her decision. “Alright, I guess I can go.”

“Excellent, I’ll see you in a few days at the gate. Meet us there around four in the evening.” Manuela bids Byleth goodnight and turns to the courtyard, but calls back before she leaves, “One more thing. Don’t even think about doing it!” Then she walks away. 

Byleth is left dumbfounded while Sothis struggles to contain her laughter. “Oh my gosh, she totally called us out on our whole pilfering scheme.” Byleth sighs as she closes her door. Once Sothis calms down enough, she says, “You know, despite her claims, I don’t think she has ever actually slept with another man.”

“Oh, I refuse to believe that.” Byleth says in a soft but disgruntled voice. She didn’t want someone else knocking on her door tonight. 

Sothis rolled her eyes as she explained, “Well, have you seen her room?”

Byleth stops and shudders as the memories play back in her mind. “Ugh, my skin still crawls when I think about it. Probably the first time I ever felt genuinely uncomfortable.” 

Sothis giggles lightly before continuing, “Well, it’s getting late, and you don’t have any more papers to grade. If you want, I could let you go on your, uh,  _ date, _ on your own.”

Byleth rolls her eyes as she changes into her night wear. “You know I don’t swing that way, Sothis. My heart is already taken as is. I just have to do and say the right things for it to work out.”

“Very well then. I’m still leaving you on your own though. I’m going to have some fun with Edelgard, anyway.”

Byleth narrows her eyes. “What are you planning to do?”

Sothis gets an evil grin. “Well, she practically caused the wars in the past. I figured I could have some fun with her this year, just to get some petty revenge for what she did... I mean what she is going to do.”

Byleth knew there was no stopping the immortal child in her mind, so she doesn’t argue and bids Sothis goodnight before quietly falling asleep. 

\--------------

The free day arrives. After bidding Sothis a quiet farewell in her room, Byleth sits on the fishing pier, reeling in her fourth catch of the day. 

“Professor, how do you do it?” asks Leonie, who had, so far, not caught a single fish. 

“I learned from my father. He showed me how to fish in case I need to survive in the wilderness, and I just found that I have a natural talent for it.” Byleth says as her fishing rod gets tugged almost as soon as the hook hits the water. 

“Yeah, I also learned how to fish to survive, but that’s just ridiculous,” says Raphael, pointing to the fifth fish that Byleth has reeled in. He, too, has yet to make a catch. 

“Maybe if we ask Jeralt for lessons, I- er,  _ we  _ could get as good.” muses Leonie. Byleth couldn’t help but giggle at her student’s misstep. While Leonie mentioned her father at least ten times a day, she couldn't help but find it slightly endearing; although, she would never admit that her skill was the result of four timelines worth of fishing every chance she got. 

“Well, if you ask nicely, he might give you a few pointers,” said Byleth as she reeled in her sixth and largest fish. Raphael also gets some luck, but he reels in the smallest fish of the day, much to his dismay. 

“Ugh, why! I was hoping for something actually filling tonight,” he exclaimed.

Byleth puts the large fish in his bucket. “You can take the big one. I wasn’t planning on eating these tonight.” 

“Oh, thanks, Professor.” 

Leonie says, “Hey professor, what are you doing tonight, anyway?” 

Byleth just sighs and explains, “Well, Manuela had invited me to the town later, and I decided to take her up on her offer.”

Leonie frowns when she picks up on Byleth’s unease, “You don’t sound like you’re looking forward to it.”

“It’s not like I’m not looking forward to it, it's more that I think Manuela has some ulterior motive for it.”

“Ha!” exclaims Raphael, “Sounds like Manuela. Anytime she goes into town, she always comes back with another guy. Though, I’ve seen a few leave a little too quickly.”

Byleth just shrugs her shoulders as she reels in, somehow, a small satchel of coins. Leonie just gives up and gives her rod to the fish master. “I’m going to the training grounds. If you need me, just holler.”

Byleth reels in her last catch while Raphael also returns his rod to the fish master, saying, “I’m going to see if I can’t get this big guy smoked,” he hoists the bucket with the large fish, “I’ll be in the kitchens if you need me.” 

The fish master looks over at Byleth and shakes his head when he looks into her overfilled bucket. “You know, at this rate, we might not have any fish left by the end of the month. You should spend your time doing something else and let others have a chance.”

Byleth returns her rod while saying, “It’s not like I have a choice. The fish just swim up and take the bait as soon as they see it. It has always been like this.”

“That much may be true, but I want you on a strict limit of five fish per day from now on, alright.”

“Very well. Thanks for the bait, though.”

“Sure thing. Take care now.”

After the brief exchange with the fish master and delivering the fish to the kitchen, Byleth walks over to the greenhouse, and checks on the flowers she had been growing. After getting some more fertilizer for the smaller ones, she spots Dedue tending to a few plants of his own while chatting with a curious Flayn. While she is tempted to converse with them, Byleth decides against this and heads for the main gate. It would still be another hour until Manuela showed up, but she figured she could talk to the gatekeeper a bit more. 

\--------------

Sothis, now free for the day, was sitting on the edge of the Goddess Tower, watching the daily lives of all the students and faculty below. She reveled in her newfound freedom. Since no one could see her, she spent a lot of time mimicking what everyone was doing. She sang with the choir (quite poorly, though), watched the cooks in the kitchen, and read over the shoulders of several students in the library. However, while she very much enjoyed herself, she still has yet to find her target anywhere. She suspected that Edelgard had some kind of meeting with TWSITD today, so she was happy enough to wait for her return. 

She feels a surge of energy emit from the dorms, and Edelgard’s distinct aura reaches her. Grinning wickedly, she gently floats down the tower and scurries towards Edelgard’s room. ‘This is for giving us all hell these last four timelines.’

\--------------

Edelgard shoves her trunk under her bed and heaves a heavy sigh. ‘Why does my life have to come to this?’ Her meeting had not gone well. Thales wanted an explanation from Edelgard as to why the bandit leader died so soon, and told her that some upcoming missions would require the use of the Death Knight. Solon also made it clear that he would keep a sharper eye on her lest her father suffer any further ‘unfortunate accidents.’ They both also desired an insider beyond Solon, a student infiltrator to get closer to some of the less loyal students and stir some chaos. Again, the meeting was far from her favor. 

As Edelgard sits at her desk to write a letter to her father, she feels an all too familiar presence enter her room. At this point, she has sensed this… thing several times now and has yet to pinpoint whatever the hell it is. It obviously had something to do with Remire Village or possibly the bandit she killed. Maybe this is what Solon meant by keeping a sharper eye on her. Whatever the case, it was starting to grate in her nerves, and the quiet giggling made it worse. ‘Wait…’

\--------------

“So, you’re telling me that you got this job by accident?” Byleth was quite flabbergasted by what the gatekeeper, who she learned was named John (because of course that’s his name), had just told her. 

“Yep,” he confirmed, “I was minding my own business, visiting the monastery on a pilgrimage, standing by the gate, and Alois just walked up to me and gave me this armor. It pays well, but it’s so dull just standing here watching people come and go and come and go… it gets exhausting.” He drops his shoulders and heaves a sigh. “Still, better here than that bog-hole I used to live at with my brother.”

Byleth had spent the last hour talking to John, and found him to be a bit of an air head, but loyal to a fault, and surprisingly steadfast. She briefly wonders if he could be one of the keys to preventing Fodlan’s fate. 

She watches him as his eyes dart to the red haired shopkeeper, a young woman named Anna. For some reason, Byleth doesn’t remember seeing Anna in the monastery’s market that often in the past, but she was here today, and after purchasing a new pair of gauntlets for herself after damaging her old pair in the mock battle, Anna stated she would like to continue business with Byleth, and promised to return as frequently as her travels would allow. After her purchase, Byleth began speaking with John, and she noticed that he would, every so often, glance in Anna’s direction. 

“Is everything alright?” Byleth asks. “You seem distracted.”

John stiffens a little and says, “Oh, uh, it’s… it’s nothing. Nope! Nothing at all!” Byleth levels a glare at him and his rather poor facade falters. “Ugh, alright, just promise you won’t tell anyone,” he says in a low voice. 

“I promise,” replies Byleth

John takes a deep breath before explaining in a low voice, “It’s just, that shopkeeper, the one with the red hair. She hardly ever visits the monastery, and I want to try and talk to her, but anytime I try, I get cold feet and pretend to not be interested. I never know if or when she would return when she leaves and I was just hoping to, you know, get to know her better.” 

Byleth rests her chin in her hand and throws a glance towards Anna, who hurriedly looks away when their eyes meet. ‘Hmmm, if I’m piecing this together right, I think they both have cold feet.’

“Well, I’m no expert on people, but, if I had a guess on what you should do, perhaps you should… uh…” Byleth falters. ‘How am I supposed to give advice on talking to people when I can hardly talk to anyone myself?’ 

A sudden voice behind her makes her jump slightly. “Well, darling, what you should do is take it slowly. Don’t just rush in there and expect a friendly conversation outright. Start slow, have a reason to introduce yourself. That woman is a shopkeeper, after all. Perhaps she has a weapon or a piece of armor that would be of interest to you?” Manuela had crept up behind Byleth and listened in on her conversation with John. 

John the gatekeeper contemplates what Manuela just said. “You know, you might be right,” he says, “Once I’m off duty I’ll peruse her wares. Yes. That’s what I’ll do.” He doesn’t seem terribly convinced, but, it’ll at least get the ball rolling. Probably. Hopefully. 

As John sikes himself up, sort of, Byleth turns to face Manuela, who has a tired looking Hanneman to her left, and a hooded figure to her right. Byleth looks closer to see… ‘Seteth?’

Shocked, Byleth opens her mouth to say something, but before Byleth could say anything, Seteth brings his finger to his lips, and Manuela leans towards Byleth’s ear and whispers, “Yes, Seteth is joining us. Don’t say a word about it until we are far from the gate.”

Byleth nods silently while Seteth returns his hand to his side. Hanneman, yawning, says, “Can we just go already? I need to get back to my research. I think I’m close to identifying Byleth’s crest.”

After rolling her eyes, Manuela ushers her entourage out the gate, leaving the distracted gatekeeper to continue building his resolve (fingers crossed). 

Once out of earshot of anyone besides themselves, Byleth turns her head towards Seteth. He is wearing a plain chaplin’s robe, not the usual blue tunic she had seen him wear throughout the monastery. The hood was pulled over his head so no one could easily identify who he is. “Why are you with us?” She asks curiously. 

“If anyone asks, it’s to keep Manuela from drinking the tavern dry,  _ again _ ,” he responds in a harsh whisper, the sharp glare he throws at Manuela speaking volumes. He continues speaking, “As for why I’m really here…*sigh*... Rhea insisted I take a day off, Goddess knows why, and Manuela must’ve overheard us and invited me along. As far as anyone is concerned, keeping an eye on Manuela is the  _ only _ reason I’m here.”

Byleth nods and looks in Manuela’s direction. She had just begun a debate on what qualifies as justification for a clean room with Hanneman, and it seemed to be getting rather heated. Byleth decides not to get involved, strictly because she had seen Manuela’s room in the past, and did not want to relive the trauma again.

And so, the four of them walked to the town, and Byleth steeled herself for what she expected to be an interesting night. 

\--------------

Felix huffs a frustrated sigh as the practice dummy he was using sits split in half. Well, almost in half. ‘My swing is too shallow, I need to reach further if I hope to deal a stronger blow.’ Ever since the mock battle, he had spent every available day honing his sword skills. He was convinced that, in the mock battle, if he had reached just a bit further, he could’ve avoided being eliminated by Dorothea, and the results of his training showed his frustration. He figures he had broken at least one hundred training dummies by now, and he would break one hundred more before the month’s end. 

Unbeknownst to him, his classmate, Annette, just watched as he removed the damaged dummy and brought out a new one. She had watched him for some time now, originally intending to practice some of the spells she learned earlier in the week. But she was drawn towards the young swordsman, only taking her eyes off him when he looked in her direction. Annette quietly tore her eyes off him and focused on her own target dummy. ‘If I am to match him someday, I need to get stronger.’ She lets loose a flurry of high velocity winds towards her target, sending it high into the air and crashing to the ground in a puff of dust, wood, and fabric. 

Felix watched the spell as it was unleashed. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed, but he thought little of it. He needed to get stronger himself if he hoped to win the Battle of the Eagle and the Lion in a few months. He turns back to his target and readies himself for another round of attacks. But as he brings his sword around to strike, he feels his shoulder contract in an awkward way, and searing pain rushes down his arm. He swings wide, missing the target, and he stumbles to the ground, his shoulder protesting his every move. 

Annette had looked over when this happened, and rushed over to Felix while shouting his name. She kneels down next to him and begins casting a simple healing charm on his sprained shoulder. Felix, for his part, only grunted in pain when his injury occurred, but he felt somewhat shameful for falling to the ground. As Annette casts the charm, Felix feels his shoulder protest less and less until it becomes little more than a dull throb. Annette tries to lift him up, but he brushes her off and hoists himself off the ground, twisting his now stiff shoulder once on his feet. 

Annette, still worried for her classmate, asks, “How long have you been out here?”

Felix, a fresh scowl on his face, responds, “Why would you care?”

“Your sprain was from overexertion, isn’t it? If you keep doing this, you might do more damage than a sprain in the future.” 

“Listen, I don…” before he can finish, the pain in his shoulder flares up again, leaving him grimacing. 

Annette casts another healing charm to lessen the pain and says, “I know you probably won’t listen, but please, call it a day, not for my sake but for yours.” She looks at him with pleading eyes while he meets hers with a scowl. 

After a few tense seconds, Felix finally relents and returns his training sword back to it’s rack while Annette moves his training dummy off the field. He turns to her to say something, but his words catch in his throat, and he, instead, turns and leaves the field, leaving a somewhat depressed Annette behind. 

\--------------

Byleth is sitting in a small, covered booth in the corner of the tavern, away from prying eyes. She was sitting next to Seteth who, after the curtains were drawn, removed his hood, revealing his striking green hair. Hanneman was sitting across from Byleth, holding a tissue in his right hand, because on his left…

“WHY DOES EVERY MAN I MEET LEAVE ME!!” a rather drunk Manuela was crying into his shoulder. Almost as soon as they sat down, Manuela had ordered a round of drinks for everyone. Seteth hadn’t even touched his pint, asking for a glass of water instead. Hanneman had downed his first drink and was working on his second. Byleth, remembering the first and last time she got drunk, had only downed half her pint. Manuela, however, was on her fourth, with a fifth sitting and waiting on the table already. 

Hanneman sighs as he brings the tissue to Manuela’s nose, which she gratefully accepts as she blows into it. As he does this, he says, “You know, if you cleaned your room every once in a while, maybe they wouldn’t run away so hastily.”

Manuela, still lamenting, responds, “Why should I? It’s not like I’ve got the time anyway.”

Hanneman, for his part, had heard this excuse one too many times to care by this point, and just returned to his own drink. 

Seteth just groans tiredly at Manuela while she laments her failures, and looks over at Byleth, saying, “And this is why I don’t leave the monastery.”

Byleth hadn’t said a word since they entered the tavern, and just cautiously sipped the hard cider she had in front of her. She found the taste far more agreeable with her pallet than the beer that they had stocked here. 

After Manuela composes herself and downs her fifth pint in one go, she, rather drunkenly, asks Byleth, “SoOOoo, how has the class been doin’?”

Byleth, after throwing a cautionary glance towards Seteth, who then told the barmaid to cut off Manuela, says, “They’ve been doing alright, but I’ve had to give a couple of students one-on-one lessons yesterday.”

Hanneman perks up and says, “Oh, I’ve had to do the same as well. Young Ashe had some trouble stringing his bow and I had to step in to help. He’s alright now.”

Manuela also says, “Ooooh, yesh. I had to talk to B- Bern- Bernedddid as well. She’s a little toooooooo quiet.” Manuela stumbles over Bernadetta’s name as she says it, showing just how far gone she is. 

Seteth, massaging his temples while glaring at Manuela, says, “Well, who needed your direct guidance Byleth?”

“Marianne,” she confirms, “She’s been rather distant most of the class and I decided to speak with her directly. Her grades are good, but I need her to apply herself more if she hopes to graduate. I also spoke with Ignatz directly as well. He is less distracted, but his aim with a bow needed some work.”

Hanneman, now free from Manuela’s grasp, shifts his chair slightly before resting his head on his fist, and faces Byleth directly, asking “You seem to have something else you want to say. Do you wish to share?”

Byleth, realizing that the second phase of her plan had all but presented itself to her, nods and says, “Actually, there is something I’ve been meaning to ask. I was wondering if, during the upcoming missions, that all three classes worked together as opposed to going on their own missions.”

Seteth throws a sideways glance at Byleth, while Hanneman sits up a little straighter in his chair. Manuela, well, she seemed distracted by the funny looking table cloth, giggling like a child every time she touches it. Seteth speaks first, “Normally we have the classes go on separate missions to avoid conflict between them. The last time we had a joint mission, several of the students got into a brawl with each other. I’d advise against it.”

Hanneman, however, was less doubtful, “I would beg to differ, Seteth. Byleth is on to something here. The relationship between the three nations right now is rather strained, yes, but this year is unprecedented for us because we have all the future leaders here at once. Having them work together on a few missions could be of immense benefit not just for each of their nations, but for Fodlan as a whole, wouldn’t you agree.” 

Seteth contemplates this for a few minutes while Manuela starts nodding in and out of consciousness. Finally, he says, “I’ll bring it up with Rhea. I’ll only allow it if she approves it. We’ll see how this month’s mission goes and, if it goes well, we may consider more joint missions in the future. Until then, continue with the classes as normal.”

Byleth silently cheers in her head. ‘Phase two is going well already. Let’s see if those bandits are ready for us.’ Hanneman, after jostling Manuela awake, suggests they finish for the night, and the three responsible adults and the drunken one pay their tab and leave the tavern. As they walk, however, poor Manuela is overcome with motion sickness, and the lunch she had eaten earlier in the day suddenly gets left out for the birds to feast on. Yes, a fun night was had indeed. 

\--------------

The four return to the monastery after sundown, and they find the market closed for the night. Byleth spots John the gatekeeper chatting amicably with Anna in front of her wagon stall, and silently hopes that this isn’t the last time she sees them like this. She parts with Seteth, Hanneman and Manuela, bidding them goodnight as she turns to the dormitories. *Growl* Correction: she turns to the dining hall. 

There, she finds only a handful of kitchen staff who had stayed behind incase of any midnight snackers, such as herself, and gets a small bowl of chicken noodle soup with a small bread roll. When she sits, she notices Dorothea and Bernadetta sitting across the dining hall, the former doing a lot of talking while the latter sits silently and listens. ‘I wonder what they are up to.’ Rather than intrude, Byleth downs her food and returns the dish to the kitchen staff. As she leaves, her name gets called, “Professor Byleth! Can we speak to you please?” 

Byleth turns to find Dorothea waving over to her. Byleth hurries over and asks, “Sure. Do you need something?” 

Dorothea responds, “I was just wondering if I can ask a favor? It’s nothing crazy, I promise.”

“Ok, go ahead.”

Dorothea clears her throat before speaking, “Well, I was talking to Bernie here, and she mentioned that she saw you helping Ignatz with his bow technique yesterday, and she was wondering if you could help tutor her.” 

Bernadetta, now red as a tomato, quickly stammers, “W-w-wait, that’s not what I said. I- it’s not what it looks like.” She hides herself under her hands and tries to disappear from embarrassment. 

Byleth, however, says, “Sure, I don’t have a problem with it. I just need to finish with classes tomorrow and you can join Ignatz and I on the training field.”

Bernadetta stops shaking and looks up at Byleth, light shining in her eyes. “Really?! You’ll help me?” 

Dorothea just calmly giggles and smiles at her friend before saying, “See, I told you she was friendly.”

Bernadetta, realizing what had happened, turns red again, and bids both Dorothea and Byleth goodnight before running back to her room. Dorothea’s smile falters slightly before saying, “That poor girl.” Byleth doesn’t acknowledge this statement, but, knowing what she has been through, feels the same way for her. 

Dorothea stands up at her chair and bids Byleth goodnight before leaving the dining hall as well. Byleth quietly follows, and returns to her own room. She reaches out to Sothis when she gets there, but gets no immediate reply. She begins changing into her night clothes, but her consciousness gets warped inward and she finds herself standing before Sothis’ throne, and the thrones owner in question is sitting in a fetal position, all color drained from her face. Her eyes are as wide as dinner plates, and she is trembling all over. Whatever happened, it wasn’t good. 

Byleth cautiously approaches the throne, hoping to console Sothis, but as she reaches her, she here’s Sothis repeating the same thing, over and over in a quiet voice. 

“She can hear me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 0.o  
> I'll, uh... get back to you next week?


	6. Whispers In The Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "No! You'll never be alone! When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars! Hear the whispers in the dark!"-Skillet

Sothis had just entered Edelgard’s room, and was watching her as she sat at her desk. Sothis’ grin widened when she saw Edelgard’s shoulders droop. ‘She can feel me all too well.’ Sothis giggled lightly as she prepared to antagonize Edelgard for the rest of the day, but Edelgard perked up slightly, and turned her head sharply to face the, supposedly, empty room. Sothis giggled a little more, thinking that Edelgard must be paranoid by her presence now, but the young princess stood up and walked over to where Sothis stood. Sothis tilted her head to the side. ‘Can she really sense me that well now?’

As Edelgard looked over her room, terror evident in her eyes, she walked over to her disused closet, and opened it. Nothing. She closed the door, and turned back to where Sothis stood, who was trying hard to restrain her laughter, but her heaves were still partially audible to anyone who could hear. When Sothis collected herself, she looked back up at Edelgard who was now paralyzed with fear, staring directly at where Sothis stood. At this point, Sothis was gleeful that she had Edelgard was so spooked, but what she said next would dispel that glee. 

“I- I know you're in here,” Edelgard said in a fearful tone, “I can hear you. Show yourself.” Edelgard was visibly shaking at this point, and her eyes were glued at where Sothis stood. 

Sothis’ gleeful expression morphed into one of shock. ‘She can… hear… me?’ Sothis brings her right hand to her mouth as the realization finally hits her. Gone was the desire to antagonize the princess. Now, she wanted to run, but her own fear left her planted in place, all but staring down Edelgard. 

Edelgard moved first, slowly approaching Sothis. Sothis stared down at Edelgards hand as it passed harmlessly through her chest, not daring to make another sound. Edelgard looked down at her hand, before raising it higher until it was above Sothis head, then brought her hand back down to Sothis eyes, and pulled her hand back.

Edelgard looked directly into her eyes. Fear was prevalent, and Sothis’ own eyes showed just as much fear. ‘She can hear me.’ Sothis was at a complete loss. Never before had this happened. Never before had Sothis been caught off guard by a mortal human. And now, she looked right into the eyes of her supposed enemy, someone who had suffered at the hands of the same people as she did over a thousand years ago. 

After a few tense seconds, Edelgard spoke. “Who are you?” Sothis couldn’t bear it. She darted out of the room and rushed to all corners of the monastery, doing everything she could to be noticed by someone, anyone else. She shouted at the top of her lungs at Alois, she tried flirting with Sylvain, she even threw obscenities at the disguised librarian Tomas, but no one could hear her. 

After targeting everyone in the Monastery, she retires to the Gazebo area. She huddled in a corner and held her head in her hands. “Why? Why can she hear me now?”

Sothis heard a sudden voice call out in the Gazebo. “Are you here?” Sothis gasped and looked up to see Edelgard standing before her, fear still evident in her eyes. 

\--------------

Edelgard let go of a breath she had been holding once the presence vanished from her room ‘What the hell was that?’ She had never felt anything like this before. Not even the torture and suffering she felt at the hands of Thales could compare to this. When she reached out to where she heard the voice, it felt like pins and needles had begun poking at her hand, the same way it felt when one’s leg falls asleep and starts to wake up again, but nowhere near as intense. 

She had raised her hand up above what she thought was its head, and brought it back down to about where she thought eye level would be, and looked right at it. She asked who it was and the presence vanished right after. Now, she was trembling with fear. This was beyond Solon. He wouldn’t dare torment her in this way, not while there was work that needed to be done. Edelgard looked at the spot where she sensed this being before turning to her door. She needed to calm down. 

She found herself walking aimlessly through the monastery, pausing every so often as the presence seemingly darted around her. ‘Did I scare this thing?’ It certainly seemed like it. She felt this presence linger over by an idle Sylvain for a period before darting off again. At another point, while she was by the fishing pond, she felt it circling the fish master, then it took off towards the gate. 

Edelgard, steeling her resolve, followed this… thing. It zoomed about the monastery grounds, reaching every corner until it finally came to a stop in the Amiibo Gazebo. No one really knew why it was called the Amiibo Gazebo, nor could anyone explain why, at random times, there would be money, minerals, seeds, even weapons on the ground next to it. Edelgard had seen Byleth collect these materials from time to time, and suspected that perhaps the presence she felt now had something to do with it. She walked to the corner where the presence was sitting(?), and approached silently. 

Then, a voice from nowhere said, “Why? Why can she hear me now?” Edelgard stopped. Her fear reemerged as she stared at that spot. It sounded like a young girl, maybe younger than Bernadetta or Lysithea. 

Edelgard, knowing the only other option is to run, simply asked, “Are you here?” Her question was met with an audible gasp from the empty space, and Edelgard’s fears were confirmed. Whatever, whoever this was, it could hear her, and she could hear it. 

Edelgard fought every instinct to run as the voice began to speak again in a quiet whisper, “You can actually hear me?” Edelgard just silently nods and waits for another response. She can’t tell if she was going mad like her siblings, or if what was happening was real. 

The voice, now trembling, said, “L-look. Here is not a good place to- uh, to talk. Perhaps we can… uh… talk in… your room. Yes, your room tomorrow?” Edelgard only nodded silently, completely lost for words. “Good, I’ll...uh… see you… then… I guess.”

And with that, the presence vanished once again. Edelgard just stood there, her mind completely overwhelmed with this revelation. Something was in this monastery, and only she could interact with it. Edelgard was so distracted by this she didn't notice the two people who entered the Gazebo. One of them called out to her, “Edie!”

Edelgard yelped and jumped, hard, at her name being called by Dorothea, and she held her face in her hands in shame for being startled so easily. “Dorothea, don’t sneak up on me like that.” Edelgard’s sudden jump caused Bernadetta, the other person to enter, to hide behind the young songstress. 

Dorothea quickly apologized for scaring the princess, and said, “I’m terribly sorry for that, I just wasn’t expecting to see you here. In all honesty though, you look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” 

‘Well, you’re not wrong,’ Edelgard begrudgingly thought to herself. She doesn’t want anyone to think she was going crazy after all. Edelgard calmed herself before reassuring Dorothea that she is alright. “I’m fine, I just wasn’t expecting you to come here.”

Dorothea, not believing a word she said but not wanting to push the issue, changed the topic, “Well, I was coming here to talk with Bernie anyway, and I hoped that you would like to join us. We went to your room earlier, but we couldn’t find you.”

Edelgard seriously wanted to go back to her room and pretend that this was all a bad dream, but she felt the presence watching them behind her. Edelgard needed to distract herself, and made her decision. “You know, I think I would enjoy some time with you two.”

Dorothea squeed at this as a bright smile adorned her face, and said, “Excellent, maybe we can convince Petra to join us and make it a girls night!” 

Edelgard only smiles reluctantly at Dorothea’s excitement, and sees Bernadetta trembling behind the songstress. ‘If anything is to come of this ‘girls night’, I hope to at least get away from that thing.’ The three of them leave the gazebo, while the presence stays put, not following Edelgard any longer. 

\--------------

Byleth sits on the floor in front of the throne as she drinks in Sothis’ words. ‘So, Edelgard can hear her now.’ In all the previous timelines, Sothis was only ever heard by Byleth. Even after their souls fused at the hands of Solon, she found a way to come back in every timeline, after the war’s end at least. Not once has anyone else been able to see, hear, or even feel Sothis. So why Edelgard, why this timeline, and why so suddenly?

Sothis is still in a fetal position on her throne, rocking gently and cuddling her hair like a doll as the memories of the day play back in her mind. She looks rather pathetic, not like the regal, wise goddess she’s supposed to be. 

Byleth speaks after mulling over Sothis’ words, “You don’t suppose you could befriend her, and maybe dissuade her from pursuing a war no one wants?”

Sothis shoots a disgusting glare at Byleth, catching the woman by surprise, all but shouting, “WHY SHOULD I BEFRIEND HER! SHE’S THE ONE THAT CAUSED THIS MESS! WE WOULDN’T BE HERE IF NOT FOR HER POOR JUDGMENT! WHY-” Byleth cuts Sothis off with a swift slap to the face. Sothis sits dumbfounded and brings her hand to her cheek, rubbing where a hand print was beginning to form. Sothis chokes on a cry as she speaks. “*Sniff* Why did you hit meeeee?” Tears start streaming down her face. 

Byleth, now irritated, only says, “Because you’re being irrational. Edelgard is only doing this because TWSITD convinced her to do it. I’m not saying she is entirely guiltless, but if you can convince her to change her path, we might be able to spare some bloodshed down the road.” Sothis is pitifully crying now, and barely registers Byleth’s words between sobs. Byleth just waits for Sothis to calm down before continuing. “Look, I want to be able to save everyone this time, and if you can talk to Edelgard now, we might be able get her on a better path.”

Sothis, after calming herself, only nods her head silently. She hugs her knees as she begins listing off to sleep. Before she passes out, she sends Byleth back out, allowing her to change into her nightwear and to get some sleep herself. 

\--------------

_ She found herself strapped to a steel table, her mind unable to process the last few hours. How long had she been out this time? What were they going to do? She tried to move her neck, but a leather strap around her head kept her in place. She strained her eyes trying to look around the dark, cold room, and saw the hooded, masked figures huddled around a small table. She couldn’t see between them, but whatever they looked at excited them, their whispers barely audible to her. She heard a voice call to them, but strangely, she couldn’t hear the words themselves, even though the speaker was right above her, his all too familiar grin piercing into her soul. They moved over her, holding what appeared to be a stone, a crest stone. She couldn’t identify what the crest could be, but she knew what was soon to happen. She’d given up by now. Years of fighting, resisting, and praying was met with nothing, and in a few hours, she would soon meet the same fate as her siblings; either madness, or a slow, painful death. She closed her eyes as the fleeting memory of the little blond boy played in her mind for the last time. ‘I’m sorry…’ _

\--------------

Edelgard sat up in a cold sweat. Gone was the stone walls, gone was the steel table. Here, she was greeted by wooden floors and cotton bedding. She felt her heartbeat slow as reality returned her to her senses. ‘Another nightmare.’ Ever since Thales allowed her to return to the world, she had always been plagued by nightmares and they always returned to her time in captivity. 

She left her bed and looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple, sleeveless, red nightgown, made from the softest silk she could find to keep her scars from bothering her at night. Her hair, somehow, never seemed to get tangled when she slept, and flowed freely down to her waist. Her eyes were bloodshot and red. ‘I cried again, didn’t I?’ She traced the visible scars on her exposed shoulders, wincing as the phantom pains returned. These scars would likely remain with her for life; only the small ones had finally begun to fade. While she doubted Thales words, he said her life expectancy had only decreased by a few years after the final operation. Her hands trembled as she traced the youthful features on her face, fearing she may not have the luxury of living to an old age. Tears begin forming again as she turns from the mirror. 

Before her sorrow overwhelmed her, It returned. The presence she had felt for the last three weeks, the presence she had heard the day before. It just waited there, standing(?) in the corner by the closet. She grabs the comforter from her bed to cover herself, ashamed of the scars that marked her body. She collects herself before addressing the presence. “I… I can feel you. Can you say something? Let me know you can hear me.” She closes her eyes, not sure if she wanted to hear something. 

It spoke. “I… I’m here. I… don’t… really know what to say.” To Edelgard, It seemed just as scared as her. 

Edelgard opened her eyes to look at the empty space before speaking again. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

It spoke once again. ”Just… call me S. As for why I’m here, I-” 

Edelgard interrupted before it finished, “S? Is it short for something?”

“Just call me S, please. I’m not comfortable sharing my full name yet.” An awkward silence followed. Edelgard was too stunned to say anything, while this voice seemed unprepared for this conversation. 

Edelgard suddenly remembers what day it is. “Um… I hate to do this, but I need to get ready for class.” 

“Oh wait a second.” S vanishes before returning a moment later. “The sun hasn't come up yet. We have some time.”

Edelgard laments the lack of sleep she got, but this thing called ‘S’ has arrived as promised, and she wanted answers. “Why are you here?”

S is barely audible when she (presumably ‘she’) says, “I want to help you.” 

Edelgard narrowed her eyes, unsure what she meant, “Help me? What do you mean help me? How do I know I can trust you and you’re not some curse Solon had-“

“DON’T COMPARE ME TO THAT FUCKING SACK OF SHIT!” Edelgard is stunned into silence while S gasps at her own choice of words. “I… I’m sorry you had to hear that. I’m… not very fond of him.”

“I can tell,” says Edelgard. She moves to her bed and sits down as S comes closer. “Why do you hate him? What did he do to you?”

Edelgard hears S give an audible sigh before she speaks, “He tried to kill me four times. As you can see, he succeeded. I don’t know what he did, but… I’m trapped here. I’m unable to move on. You’re the first person I’ve been able to talk to in a very long time.”

Edelgard looks down at the floor as S speaks, contemplating just what kind of curse Solon had used to trap a soul in the waking world. “Why did he want to kill you?”

S’ answer shocks Edelgard. “Because I’m like you. You aren’t the first to survive.” 

“What? You… were also a victim?”

“Yes. The reason they wanted me dead was because I had escaped. Solon was the one who hunted me down. This was years ago, long before you were even born actually.”

Although she should’ve seen this revelation coming, Edelgard is too stunned to answer. She looks towards where S was standing (floating?), and says, “But, how did you find me? Why are you able to talk to me?”

“I think we can talk because we have the same crest. I was born crestless, but when they initially captured me, they implanted the same Crest of Flames you have into me. It might be the reason.” 

“And it’s not because I just have two crests?”

Again, the answer shocks Edelgard. “I know this for a fact because you aren’t the only one alive with two crests.”

“WHAT!” Edelgard can barely contain her voice, and winces at how loud she got. She waits a few minutes before asking in a quiet voice, “Who else could possibly be alive with two crests?”

“One of the Golden Deer students, the girl named Lysithea. I can sense the crests she has within her, though for you, it should be the color of her hair.” Edelgard remembers back to the mock battle. She had eliminated Lysithea after she sent Hubert sprawling with a well placed Miasma. She had noticed that Lysithea’s hair was stark white, whiter than even her own hair. 

“Oh, Goddess.” Edelgard hadn’t even considered the possibility that Lysithea was also a victim of TWSITD’s machinations. “When did this happen?”

“Her operation happened long before you were captured. She survived, but she might not live beyond thirty, maybe fourty if she’s lucky. With you, however, you might live to sixty if you stay in good health, seventy at most.” 

Edelgard felt tears running down her cheeks as a wave of guilt washes over her. ‘How could I have been so stupid? No one in the world has naturally white hair like that.’ “But… but I… I don’t….” She was at a complete loss for words. 

S interrupts her stammering, “Listen, I know it’s a lot to take in, and if you need time to think about it, I won’t mind leaving you for a little bit.”

“Promise me.” Edelgard whispers, “Promise me that what you said is true. Promise that you will help me.”

“I pro- “ Edelgard cuts her off before she can finish. 

“No, not like that. I need something more, something not as shallow as just ‘I promise’. A vow, maybe, just, something stronger.”

S is quiet for a minute before she gives her vow, “Know this, that you’ll never be alone. When darkness comes I’ll light the night with stars. I won’t be far. Hear the whispers in the dark.”

“Thank you,” Edelgard is barely audible. S lingers for a minute longer before vanishing, leaving Edelgard to process what she had just learned from her spectral friend. ‘Or, could she be my Guardian Angel?’ 

\--------------

Byleth has just woken up, and is changing into her day clothes when she hears a muffled voice in her head say, “I am a horrible liar.” Byleth’s face morphs into one of confusion, all but picturing Sothis with her head buried into the stony armrest of her throne. 

Keeping her voice low, she asks, “Why are you a ‘horrible liar?’” 

Sothis voice is less muffled in her response, “Because I convinced Edelgard that I am a long lost victim of TWSITD.”

Byleth groans and rubs her eyes in frustration, “And you couldn’t tell her the truth why?

“Because she wouldn’t have believed me, and I didn’t want to risk your head on the chopping block.”

Byleth dons her coat and collects her paperwork for class, not wanting to continue the conversation. ‘All she had to do was tell her the truth, but no. She had to make up a story that disconnects me from her and paints herself as just another victim. She’s not wrong, per say, but telling the truth now would be so much easier than telling it later. Fucking Hell’s bells.’ Byleth huffs another sigh before leaving her room and making her way to her classroom. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on the bombshell...  
> Anyway, sorry for the short chapter, I couldn't think of anyway to extend it beyond this, but now we have major timeline divergence number two on our hands, with many more to come.  
> Next week, I'll leave a little hint. I'm sure all of you have noticed how I'm naming chapters by now, so I'll leave you all with next weeks chapter title, because we have another battle on our hands, and "This Is Gonna Hurt" ;)  
> See ya then!


	7. This Is Gonna Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Got a bullet in the chamber and this is gonna hurt!"- Sixx:A.M.  
> (Seriously, listen to the song first before reading, trust me, it's worth it)

Edelgard stands alone in the armory, giving a few test swings to her ax. Today was the houses’ first mission, and the scowl on her face spoke volumes of what she felt about working with the Lions and the Deer. The mission was simple. A group of bandits had been cornered in the Red Canyon, and the church decided it would be a good experience for the three houses to finish them off. Edelgard knew just which bandit pack they were hunting as she had hired them for the Remire Village incident. 

Edelgard stiffens slightly as S’ presence appears. They had talked on and off the last two weeks, mostly discussing recent events. Edelgard had yet to tell her about the Emperor of Flames, but suspects S already knows. The last time they spoke, S offered to help her in the mission, something about improving her combat rhythm. While Edelgard was no slouch when it came to training, she hated to admit that following a rhythm had been a weak point of hers. She said at the time she would think about it, and figures that if S is here now, she wanted an answer. 

S’ voice comes from the empty space, saying, “Well, do you want to take up my offer?”

Edelgard keeps her voice down to a whisper, and holds her ax over her shoulder as she speaks, “I’ve thought about it. Just what can you do to help?”

“This.” When S goes silent, Edelgard suddenly hears a faint sound in the empty space, almost like a choir. Suddenly, a powerfully loud organ blasts the armory, startling Edelgard and causing her to enter a battle ready stance, but as she looks around the armory, everything is still, even though, by all rights, it should all be shaking in the noise. A distorted instrument accompanied the organ as drums began rumbling in her head. The voice of an experienced opera singer fills the space as the rest of the instruments quiet down. 

**“In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came. The voice which calls to me, and speaks my name.”**

Edelgard can only stand dumbfounded as everything suddenly goes silent. ‘That was…’

As if reading her thoughts, S says smugly, “Amazing, right?”

\--------------

Byleth wears a look of pure confusion as she looks around the vacant courtyard. ‘Why the hell did Sothis just play _that_ damn song?’ She shakes her head as she makes her way to the gate. 

\--------------

Edelgard catches her breath slowly and returns to a more relaxed stance. “How did you do that? What even was that?”

She can picture S’ smug grin as she explains, “I’ve spent a lot of time on my own, and I have an entire world to travel. It allowed me a chance to experiment a little as well as see things I wouldn’t have seen when I was alive. This little test is the culmination of many years worth of work. While the song I played certainly is great, I have several others that would work better in combat.”

“I see,” says Edelgard, not entirely convinced at S’ words. She hears a faint horn outside, and she quickly adjusts her leather breastplate and gauntlets before slinging her ax at her waist. “That’s the horn. We’re about to leave. Also, while a part of me doesn’t think it’s a good idea, I’m willing to try this experiment with you.” 

“Thank you for the opportunity. I’ll follow you to the battlefield and act as a second pair of eyes beyond just playing the music, if that helps.”

Edelgard smiles faintly as she exits the armory. ‘Perhaps I really do have a Guardian Angel.’

\--------------

Hanneman’s eyes drift over the gathering students. He, Manuela, and Byleth stood in front of the gate, with a large number of horses waiting outside for their riders. While he was fairly optimistic about this joint mission, Seteth had expressed continued doubt, even after Rhea readily approved such a mission without fuss. The students congregated in their individual houses, waiting in front of their respective professors. ‘If Seteth were here, he would say this is a sign,’ thought Hanneman bitterly, even though his smile hid his emotions. 

Manuela, however, was less optimistic than Hanneman. She knew that Edelgard had some steep reservations about working with the other houses, and most of her classmates expressed similar concerns. However, a few days earlier, Byleth had taken over the Black Eagles while Manuela was nursing a rather rough hangover, and most of the class started singing a different tune afterward. Edelgard and Hubert were the only ones who still opposed the joint mission, but didn’t say or do anything to try and change what had been set. 

Byleth stood between the other professors, her eyes drifting from student to student. As requested, all the students had been issued a basic set of leather armor to wear over their uniforms, largely to put Byleth’s own worry at ease. While she certainly had confidence that they all could pull this off, her mind had continual flashbacks to the past timelines, and the thought of her students getting hurt or worse left her on edge. 

Once the students gather in front of the professors, Byleth clears her throat and grabs their attention. “Listen up. Today, we will be going by horse to the Red Canyon. A group of bandits have been cornered there, and we have been tasked with finishing what remains of them. Everyone should have been issued leather armor and their weapons of choice. If not, let me know now.”

After a few seconds of silence, she continues, “Very well. Remember, this isn’t the mock battle or a sparring match. Today, we will be fighting truly dangerous people who are out to take your lives, and in all likelihood, most of you will have to take your first life today.” This sentence is met with some quiet whispers among the students. Byleth takes a breath before resuming, “Please remember, all of you signed up for the academy knowing this day would come. For some of you, it will be the hardest thing you will ever do in your life, but know that Hanneman, Manuela and I are here for you if you need it. Are there any questions before we embark?”

Again, Byleth is met with silence from the crowd, and she nods to John the gatekeeper. He opens the gate, and the three professors usher their students out to the waiting horses. Once everyone is mounted, they begin their march to the Red Canyon. 

\--------------

Dorothea was riding on the outer fringe of her class towards the rear of the convoy. Normally, she’d want to ride among her classmates, mingling about and growing their friendship, but today, she had noticed Bernadetta riding alone at the back, and decided to join her. Bernadetta was quiet right now, but Dorothea could see her hands shaking as she gripped the reins. 

“Bernie, are you going to be OK?” Dorothea asks quietly as to not scare the young girl. 

Bernadetta just shakes her head and says, “N-no. I-I don’t know if I’m ready for this.” Bernadetta’s shaking abates somewhat, though her composure is still far from ideal. Dorothea just nods silently, resting her hand on Bernadetta’s shoulder to try and put her more at ease as she remembers the ‘girl’s night’ from a couple of weeks ago. 

\--------------

_Dorothea’s mouth hangs agape in pure shock while Bernadetta silently cries in front of her, Edelgard, and Petra, both of whom are equally in shock. ‘What monster would do that to their own daughter?’_

_Before she could say or do anything, Edelgard surprised her by embracing Bernadetta first, while Petra just turned around and faced the door, holding back tears of her own. Dorothea moves closer to the now wailing Bernadetta and also embraces both the young girl and the princess._

_Edelgard speaks first, “I swear, on the throne I’m to inherit, your father will pay for what he’s done.”_

_Dorothea wasn’t sure if Edelgard could even do anything, regardless if she is the heir to the throne of the Empire. Dorothea knew of the insurrection, largely through Hubert, and knew Edelgard had the cards stacked against her. She silently prayed that, whatever was to happen, it would be for the better._

_Petra, after composing herself, says, “Bernadetta, I want to help you.”_

_Dorothea also shares the same desire, saying, “Yes, I want to help you, too.”_

_“But- *hic* but how,” Bernadetta says, still struggling to catch her breath. “When we graduate, I- I have to…” Bernadetta fails to finish her sentence as more sobs wracked her body._

_Edelgard pulls from Bernadetta, holding her face so she can look her in the eye, and says, “I swear, Bernadetta, I’ll bring your father to justice. If the worst comes and I can’t do anything directly, know that the royal palace in Enbarr is open to you.”_

_Bernadetta nods as she wipes the tears from her eyes. Edelgard pulls away from her, and says, “Dorothea, could you take Bernadetta to the kitchen and get her something? I… need to think about this.”_

_“Oh, of course, Edie,” Dorothea responds readily, “Come on, Bernie, I’m sure we can find something at this hour.”_

\--------------

“Are you two alright?” A sudden voice snaps Dorothea back to reality and also causes Bernadetta to stiffen up. Dorothea turns to see Hubert riding on the other side of Bernadetta, his normally sinister face showing mild concern for the two women. 

“I’m fine,” says Dorothea, “but Bernie here isn’t feeling well. Perhaps she could sit out this mission?”

“I’m afraid not. Edelgard asked me to stay by Bernadetta for the duration of the mission, actually. Said it was a personal request.”

As Hubert spoke, Bernadetta’s face only grew redder and redder as the fear of the battle was overwhelmed by the sudden onset of… well, she couldn’t quite tell. Embarrassment seemed to fit, but some other emotion was there, too. One that she couldn’t quite place. 

Dorothea, realizing she wasn’t needed anymore, moved away from them and moved towards the rest of the class. Her eyes passed over her classmates. Casper seemed to be shaking, like Bernadetta, but she suspected it was out of excitement rather than fear, his beaming smile giving it away. His friend, Linhardt, seemed less enthusiastic, making an off hand comment about Casper’s overly energetic stature. Dorothea then spotted Edelgard and Petra speaking to each other, likely discussing the political imbalance between the Empire and Brigid. She then sees the Blue Lions discussing something amongst themselves, perhaps making battle plans and unit line ups. As for the Golden Deer, Byleth seemed to be leading them in song, much to her surprise. Dorothea never suspected Byleth to be a singer, but here she was, leading them in a rather upbeat piece to lift their spirits, something about feeling invincible. She also spots Hanneman and Manuela talking, mostly about the latters room, again. As Dorothea scans the convoy, she couldn’t help but feel like they were missing someone. Unfortunately for her, that someone was right behind her.

“Well, if it isn’t the lovely miss Dorothea!” exclaims Ferdinand, making Dorothea jump slightly. 

“Ah, yes, Ferdinand,” says Dorothea, now exasperated. (She’d be lying if she said she didn’t have a little bile come up at the mention of his name.) “Do tell me, why did you think it appropriate to sneak up on a woman such as myself?” The look she leveled Ferdinand causes him to stiffen up and stammer out his response.

“W-w-w-well, I uh I just was having a little fun… yes, just… fun… ah….” Dorothea always relished the feeling of leaving men absolutely at her mercy.

“Well, if you want to have fun, perhaps you could’ve snuck up on Edelgard, or perhaps Hubert would’ve been a better target.”

His face pales at the mention of their names, “Nooooo, nononono. Do you know what they would do to me?! Hubert would use me for target practice, while Edelgard would just use me as a meat shield in the mission!’ His panicked response gets some attention from the aforementioned individuals, but Dorothea’s giggling makes them lose interest.

“I’m only messing with you because you scared me. If you really want to impress a lady, you need to be a little more considerate of them.” Dorothea wears a smug expression, knowing full well that she has all but defeated Ferdinand in this small battle, and she had a feeling that many more battles between her and the future duke would be soon to come.

\--------------

The convoy arrives at the Red Canyon. As the students ready themselves, Byleth, Claude, Petra, and Ashe move ahead to scout the canyon. The knights who had pursued these bandits said that their numbers were moderate, and their organization was marginal at best; however, as the four of them crept to the edge of the canyon, they found that their numbers were more than anticipated, and they were organized far too well. ‘Somethings not right.’

“I recognize a few of them on the fringes, but… I don’t see their leader anywhere,” Claude observes. “It’s like they got reinforced by another pack before settling here.”

“Wouldn’t put it past them,” says Ashe, “If you had cut his arm off, Professor, another pack of bandits would’ve taken the opportunity to kill him and take what he had for themselves.”

“I see someone,” quietly exclaims Petra, pointing towards a large man in black leather armor. “He’s at the back. He looks imitating… or is it intimidating?”

Byleth looks at the man. He clearly has both his arms, and bears a heavy war ax. His helm obscured his face, but his rigid stance showed a high level of discipline, “Good eye, Petra. Now, I wonder who he could be?”

“Who cares,” says Claude, “He’s our target and he needs to be dealt with.” He gets his bow out to take aim but Byleth stops him.

“We need to practice caution right now. They outnumber us by about fifteen, maybe twenty, and they have some higher grade equipment than before. Whoever took over these bandits must have been far more experienced than them.” Byleth takes a minute to contemplate just how they could defeat the bandits when her eyes catch something near the canyons edge. “Ok, I need answers. But I’ll need a couple of others for it to work. Ashe, get Felix and Claude, get Hilda. Petra, you just stay with me.”

“Why Hilda?” Claude asks. 

“Trying to get her to work a little more for a change,” Byleth responds. 

With that, Claude and Ashe set off for their respective queries, while Petra asks, “Just what are you planning?” 

Byleth has a sly grin as she gives her response, “You’ll see.”

\--------------

Dimitri sat by his horse while Byleth and those chosen to follow went on ahead. Most everyone at this point was sitting down, like him, and keeping relatively quiet as to not draw attention. While waiting, his thoughts drift between the upcoming battle and the future empress sitting across from him. He wanted to talk to her, say something to maybe, just maybe, get her to recognize him, but he was practically glued to the ground, fearful of what she would say or do if he confronted her. 

Unbeknownst to him, Edelgard had been glancing at him as well. She had heard rumors floating around that he had apparently known her at some point, though she had a hard time believing them. She had watched him glance her way several times now, and it aggravated her to no end. ‘If he wants to say something, he should just go ahead and say it. He may not like the answer I give, but it’s better than just waiting and finding out the hard way.’

They both sit quietly for several more minutes when Claude and Ashe come and grab Hilda and Felix respectively, and pull them to the front line. About ten more minutes pass, then all the front liners return with two bodies flung over Hilda’s and Byleth’s shoulders. Everyone gathers around and sees that they captured a pair of bandits, though, for Edelgard and Dimitri, their faces show worry when they notice how different they looked from before, and Claude all but confirms their fears. 

“They’ve been reinforced. They have better equipment, and a new leader. I haven’t seen the old leader yet, but the current theory is that he’s dead.”

Hilda adds, “We captured these two so we can get some info out of them.”

“And how did you go about that?” asks Ignatz. 

“Simple,” says Felix, “Professor Byleth had Petra and I run up to them and knock them out. She brought Hilda to help her carry them here.” 

“Yup,” says Hilda, tossing her bandit on the ground and stretching her back, which inadvertently caused a few of the boys to turn a little red and Sylvain to start bleeding from his nose as her chest puffs out, which in turn results in Ingrid elbowing him in his chest, but Hilda is blissfully unaware. 

Byleth tosses her bandit next to the other and they prop them both up against a tree, tying them together. She pulls her water canteen out and splashes its contents onto the unconscious bandits, stirring them awake. Their eyes dart from student to student as they realize what has happened, but before they can say anything, Byleth and Hanneman have their knives against their throats. 

Byleth speaks first, “You are going to answer our questions. If you refuse,” she twirls her knife and aims it between the bandit’s legs, “The head below your waist goes first.” All the male students start shivering in fear, feeling slight sympathy for the poor bandit, while the women’s expressions range from smug to shock. 

“And here I thought you were the ‘Ashen Demon’ because of how you fight,’ grumbles Hanneman as he edges ever so slightly away from Byleth. 

The bandit’s voice shivers as he speaks, “I’ll tell you anything, just, not there. Anywhere but there.” 

“Very well,” Byleth returns the knife to its sheath and starts interrogating the bandit. “Where’s your leader, the one who led the raid in Remire Village?”

“Kostas? Dead. He got killed by the one who paid us to do it.”

“Who paid you?”

“Don’t know. He… he only showed himself to Kostas. Kostas went and met him after the raid, and, when he didn’t show, I went looking for him. Found him dead, his throat had been stabbed right through, with his own dagger no less.”

Byleth’s eyes narrow with her next question. “In that case, who’s your current leader? How did you come under his care”

“Hmph, ‘care’ isn’t a word to describe him,” says the other bandit, “He’s ruthless. Worse than Kostas ever was. We came here for shelter, and he was here already, somehow. One night, we had just settled down, the next morning, he had all of us in chains and rope, making us swear our lives to him.” 

“He keeps his personal guard near him, while the rest of us are kept to the fringes. That’s all I know, I swear,” finishes the first bandit. 

Byleth stands up with Hanneman, and asks him, “Do you mind watching these guys with Manuela? I’d rather they not run away while we deal with those inside.” 

“Of course, Professor.” He replies as he returns his knife to its sheath. 

Byleth turns to the waiting students, and gives her plan of attack. “We can assume that this will be a rough fight today, so I want all of you on your top guard. Claude, I want you to lead all archers and combat mages from a distance, focus primarily on thinning their ranks before the rest of us move in. Linhardt, I want you to stay with the distance team. For the rest of us; Dimitri, I want you, Dedue, Raphael, Casper, Leonie, and Ferdinand on point, leading the initial charge once the distance team has finished their third volley. Marianne, since you have some combat and healing magics available to you, I want you with them, and Leonie, I expect you to keep her safe. The rest of you, myself included, will follow the point team once they break through their ranks. Once we are inside, the distance team will follow and give us support as we push through. Mercedes will act as primary healer, while Linhardt and Marianne will support her. Any questions before we begin?”

“What are we gonna do about their leader once we reach him?” asks Raphael. 

“Our task is to kill any and all bandits. The ones we have as prisoners will likely be put to the chopping block at the monastery,” confirms Hanneman with a grim expression. 

“Indeed, the more we finish here, the less we have to worry about later,” adds Manuela. 

“Any further questions?” asks Byleth. When she sees no one ask, she says, “Alrighty then. Remember, for most of you, this will be your first real battle. I ask, for the bottom of my heart, please, don’t die today.” With that, they begin organizing themselves for their first true test of the year. 

\--------------

A lone bandit stood near the front of the ruins. His tired eyes scanned the rim of the canyon, counting every tree for the fifth time that day. Their new boss refused to allow them inside the ruins proper; he had said that they were expendable in any attack from the knights that pursued them. At this point, this bandit didn’t care. If he was going to die soon, he’d at least die fighting. 

As he stands there, waiting for something to happen, he happens to look up towards the sky. The sky was clear of any cloud, the sun scorching his exposed skin, but that’s when he spotted something. There was a single dark spot, and it seemed to grow bigger. As he squinted his eyes to see what it was, he briefly felt a piercing pain surge through his head, then, he knew no more, a single arrow sticking from between his eyes. 

His allies noticed the rogue arrow as well, and attempted to warn him of it, but they, too, had a flurry of arrows and spells pelt them from afar, killing a few instantly while only injuring others. As they recovered, another volley came their way. They fled into the ruins, shouting warnings to their masters, but the last volley reached far into the ruins, dealing further damage to those inside. The new boss stepped outside, looking towards where the arrows and spells came from, and saw… students? ‘Does the Church really think we can be bested by a few meager children? Pathetic.’ 

“Listen up you useless bunch,” he exclaims in a gruff voice, drawing the attention of everyone in the ruins, “The Church thinks we aren’t a legitimate threat and sent their wards to fight us. Let’s show them why they are wrong.” 

With a renewed vigor, his personal guard assembles the lesser bandits together and prepares to meet the attacking students.

\--------------

“That’s it!” exclaims Byleth, pointing as the final volley lands, “Dimitri! Push forward!”

Dimitri nods in Byleth’s direction, and gives a mighty warcry as he and the point team charge the ruins ahead. As he runs forward, Byleth holds her team for a few seconds before allowing them to follow. The bandits, however, were quick to organize, and already had a rough defensive line to meet Dimitri’s team. Metal meets metal as the students clash with the bandits, most of them pushing through, ignoring the dazed bandits as they continue forward. Before they can recover, the bandits are then met with Byleth’s team. 

\--------------

Before the final volley was unleashed, Edelgard managed to step away to meet with S. She’d been quiet most of the march, but her presence had followed Edelgard since they left the church. 

“Hey S?” Edelgard asks, “You ready?”

“Say no more,” the disembodied voice says eagerly, “Just listen for the music.”

Edelgard nods silently as she slips back into the now advancing group. As the charge begins, Edelgard can hear a low whistle, like wind blowing through the Goddess Tower at night. As they reach full sprint and enter the ruins in the canyon, she hears what sound like distorted drums echoing in the wind, before a voice sounds out this mantra four times, each time growing louder and louder: “ **Listen up…** ”

\--------------

Had she not been in battle mode, the sudden onset of drums and electric guitars would’ve caused Byleth to jump suddenly, but her focus was the brutish hulk before her, his weapon pointed at her. ‘What are you doing, Sothis?’

As the guitar starts wailing out it’s riff, her sword almost dances to the rhythm on its own, following long, sweeping, powerful blows that stagger the brute. Then, as the first verse begins, Byleth abruptly rushes in and drives her sword deep into his heart, then yanking the sword upwards and sending blood high into the clear sky. 

\--------------

**“Feels like your life is over, feels like all hope is gone…”**

Edelgard found herself reacting almost automatically to this song, her ax connecting with every verse, her legs planting with every beat, leaving her an indistinguishable blur in the now appropriately named Red Canyon as her ax sends blood to the far walls. Had Edelgard been aware of her surroundings, she would’ve noticed a stray bandit had crept up behind her, intent on ending this young woman’s bloodbath, but he was cut short as a stray arrow ended his intentions, leaving him cold and dead on the canyon ground. 

\--------------

Bernadetta watched Edelgard turn from the crown princess of the Adrestian Empire into a bloodthirsty eagle of war, her ax giving no quarter to the bandits who had greatly underestimated the might of Fodlan’s finest. This meant she also saw the rouge bandit who broke away from the initial pack and ran up behind the young princess. 

In the initial volleys, Bernadetta intentionally missed her shots, not wanting to hurt anyone. As they charged, she had kept close to Hubert, and would’ve clung to him if it didn’t mean hindering him further. Now, she was still sticking close to him, clutching her bow close to her chest as mental exhaustion from the slaughter taking place before her eyes overwhelmed her. 

But then her eyes locked with the bandit approaching Edelgard’s blind spot. ‘She won’t see him. She can’t see him. He’ll kill her…’

As these thoughts drift through her addled mind, a single memory replayed itself once again, just as it had many times before. 

_“I swear, Bernadetta, I’ll bring your father to justice. If the worst comes and I can’t do anything directly, know that the royal palace in Enbarr is open to you.”_

Her pupils shrank in her eyes as her world became nothing but her and the bandit behind Edelgard. ‘He won’t lay a finger on my friend!’

With a sneer, she extended her bow out, and deftly pulled, twirled and notched an arrow into the string. She pulled the arrow to full draw, and unleashed it. At the last second, the bandit looked up and locked eyes with her, right before the arrow pierced his right eye, and drove itself deep into his skull, snapping his head back and collapsing to the ground, unmoving; Edelgard didn’t even notice as she continued her unholy rampage. 

Bernadetta, however, was frozen, her eyes dilating as she looked at the now lifeless body. Her mind ground to a halt as she sank to her knees, her arms dangling limply. She barely registered the voice calling her name until a blinding fireball flew through her vision, and struck a bandit that had approached from her right. She looked at the burning corps next to her as Hubert called her name again. “Bernadetta! You need to move!”

Scrambling to her feet, Hubert led her back to the entrance of the ruins where Linhardt, Ignatz, and Dorothea were already waiting. Linhardt looked ill, sitting with his arms wrapped tightly around his knees while Dorothea did what she could to comfort him. “You did what you had to,” she kept repeating as he stared at nothing. Dorothea, herself, seemed to be sort of dazed, unable to stand up straight and bobbed slightly from side to side, likely the result of a sharp blow to the head. Ignatz, however, didn’t seem injured at all, though his bow had been snapped in half, leaving him practically defenseless. 

“Bernadetta,” says Hubert, “I need you to stay here and keep them safe. I don’t know what’s gotten into Edelgard, but I need to knock some sense into her before she gets herself killed.”

“O...Ok,” Bernadetta responds with barely a whisper.

“Listen,” he says as gently as he could, “I know you’re scared, and I know you didn’t want to come here, but we need you right now. I need you to focus on keeping these three safe until the battle is over. Can you do that?”

Bernadetta dares to look into his eyes, but instead of finding the usual glare she was familiar with, his eyes showed deep concern. The young girl gulped as she nodded at him, her face showing slight hints of determination. And, quite unexpectedly for her, she saw the faint hint of genuine appreciation in his smile before returning to its more natural, sinister state. 

Hubert then immediately took off for the princess, leaving Bernadetta with the trio that were at the entrance. As she watched the battle unfold from afar, she felt something within her. As if the faintest, coldest ember had just settled within her, waiting to ignite a long extinguished fire. 

\--------------

**“Hey, hey, hell is what you make, make…”**

Dimitri and Ferdinand found themselves back to back, their lances aimed right at a pair of the leader’s personal guards. At some point, Dimitri’s crest ignited, and Ferdinand couldn’t help but notice how much the prince seemed to enjoy the slaughter now. 

“Hey prince,” says Ferdinand. Dimitri barely turns his head, but acknowledges the future duke. “I have an idea.” 

The bandits could hear the two whispering to each other, and make ready to charge them. They approach the two students rapidly, bringing their weapons above their heads as they prepare to end their lives. However, Dimitri and Ferdinand swing their Lances in a wide horizontal arch, so that the blades were facing the opposite direction to where they were facing, and thrust forcefully back into the unsuspecting chests of the bandits. Their assailants fall to the ground, limp and bloodied as the two young men nod to each other and advance further into the ruins. 

\--------------

**“Listen up, listen up, there’s a devil in the church…”**

Lysithea felt herself casting spells and dodging stray attacks instinctively to a rhythm, all the while keeping up with her equally graceful Professor. She couldn’t place it, but she felt like she should be hearing a song right now given the nature of her attacks, and Byleth seemed to be following the same rhythm as her. 

As they push further, a trio of ax wielding bandits surround them, and they find themselves cornered by a wall. They make ready to repel them when, out of the blue, three arrows fly through their skulls while Claude jumps from the wall. 

“Hello ladies,” he says with a cocky grin after he turns back to them, “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Yes,” Lysithea says with a flat expression while blasting a rogue bandit that had crept up behind Claude, “Nice to see you too.”

Claude stands paralyzed after the spell whizzes past his head and strikes the bandit. Byleth just looks at him with an apologetic expression as she runs past him back into the fray. Lysithea shakes her head and grabs his arm to pull him to his senses and return to the battle. 

\--------------

**“Got a bullet in the charmer and this is gonna hurt!”**

Edelgard catches her breath as the chorus ends, observing the flowing river of blood that she left in her wake. ‘This is incredible.’ Her fighting skill was great on its own, but this level of destruction was beyond anything she could comprehend. 

As the next verse begins, she snakes her way towards the back of the ruins, where the leader waited. ‘I must be the first here. I might have time to get answers.’

The leader, clearly distressed, spots Edelgard. “Well,” he says with a gruff voice, “If it isn’t the Church’s ward. Do you truly think you can stop me?”

“Save the boasting for when you’re in Hell,” shouts Edelgard as she points her ax at the man, “Why are you here? Who sent you?”

“And why should I answer that?” he says with a hidden sneer. 

“As the princess of the Adrestian Empire, I demand an answer!” She shouts. 

To her surprise, the dark armored man simply laughs haughtily at her and says, “If that’s the case, then you know exactly who sent me.” 

Edelgard’s brow furrows as she concludes who it could be, ‘Thales…’

“Edelgard! Behind you!” S suddenly shouts.

Edelgard swings her ax around herself and deflects the oncoming attack, her eyes locked on the mystery leader in front of her. She returns to the rhythm of the music as the chorus is belted out once again, fighting the exceptionally skilled leader and his accomplice at the same time. 

\--------------

By this point, most of the bandits had been killed, and only a couple of the students suffered any serious injury. Casper had been dueling with a bandit when another decided to creep up and try to strike him down with his armored gauntlets, but Petra had put herself in the bandits way and took the blow herself whilst also driving her blade into the bandits throat. Casper quickly finished his duel with a swift slice to the bandits neck and then turned to Petra, finding her on her hands and knees coughing up blood. 

“Shit,” he exclaims, “We need to get you out of here.” He quickly pulls her out her feet as she clutches her abdomen, no doubt in serious pain from several broken ribs. They run as fast as they could to the ruin’s entrance where a somewhat composed Linhardt meets them, quickly administering first aid to Petra. 

Nearby, Raphael howls in pain as a crossbow bolt buries itself into his arm. He turns to the bandit and sends his ax flying into his assailant's face, slicing her head in half. Marianne and Leonie quickly rush to their injured friend as he drops to his knee so Marianne can tend to his arm.

“Damn, big guy,” says Leonie, “She got you good.”

“Ah, it’s nothing,” Raphael says with a grimace. Marianne just remains quiet while casting a spell that forced the bolt out of his arm and began closing the wound. 

Finally, she says softly, “It’s closed, but we need Mercedes to finish healing it.” Nodding silently, all three of them return to the entrance and wait for Mercedes to return. 

\--------------

Mercedes was at the canyon wall, facing a pair of bandits that had driven her there. The look in their eyes sent shivers down her spine, knowing full well that they had no desire to kill her, but to _claim_ her. 

“Well, well, well,” one said with a licentious smile, “Look at this pretty little tot.”

“Yeah,” said the other, “This must be our lucky day. Sure hope the boss leaves some of the other women alive for us. One may not be enough.”

Mercedes quickly tries to look for an easy escape route to no avail, and simply draws her dagger in an effort to defend herself as the two bandits stalk towards her. Before they reach her, though, the business end of a sword erupts from the first bandit’s chest, sending blood flying at her feet. Before the other could react, an arrow flies through his throat and pins itself against the wall behind Mercedes. Both bandits fall to the ground, revealing the ever scowling Felix and an apparently exhausted Ashe.

“Are… you... alright?” Ashe asks between pants.

“I… I’ll be fine.” she replies, fear still evident in her voice. 

“Ashe,” says Felix, “Take her back to the entrance. I’m going to find the boar.” He withdraws his sword from then now dead bandit and rushes deeper into the ruins. 

“Come on,” says Ashe while taking Mercedes’ hand, “The way should be clear by now.” They both run quickly through the ruins, ignoring the dead and dying bandits they pass as they reach the ruins’ entrance. There, they find Bernadetta standing guard, though her gaze seems unfocused and her stance wavering. Next to her, Dorothea stood a little straighter, though she, too, seemed to sway from side to side a little too much. 

Concerned, Mercedes asks, “ Are you two alright?”

Bernadetta doesn’t seem to register her words, but Dorothea quickly responds, “Oh, I’m fine, just a small concussion is all. But…” her voice breaks slightly as she turns towards where Linhardt and Marianne were kneeling over someone, “Petra…”

Mercedes sprints over to where her fellow faith practitioners were tending to Petra, who was still clutching her abdomen and struggling to catch her breath. Casper sat nearby, deathly worried for the young woman who saved him. “What happened?” she asks.

Linhardt answers, “She took a blow to her chest. Casper said the guy had heavy gauntlets. At least four of her ribs are broken, and I fear she might have a collapsed lung and internal bleeding.”

Marianne grimaces as Petra coughs up a glob of bloody mucus. “Linhardt and I don’t have a spell that can heal her properly. We’re just buying her time.”

“I think I have something,” says Mercedes, quickly casting her strongest healing spell. Petra seems to relax somewhat as the spell does its job, and her breathing becomes less and less ragged. She coughs up one last glob of mucus before her breathing returns to normal, though she still holds her abdomen in pain. “That’s the best I can do. She’ll live, but Manuela will have to address her ribs once we return to her.” Linhardt, Marianne, and Casper all heave a sigh of relief as Petra, though tense with pain, nods her thanks towards Mercedes. 

\--------------

“ **This...is...gon...na..!”**

Byleth bursts through the leader's camp site as the solo begins, finding several bandits had surrounded the three dueling figures, one of which following the tempo of the rather intense music. Seizing the opportunity, she too joins the fray, catching the bandits off guard and dealing lethal blow after blow to the audience. The final chorus begins, and she slides right behind Edelgard, and says to her, “Let’s finish this!”

**“Listen up, listen up there’s a devil in the church…”**

As the chorus thunders in their heads, their weapons clash against their enemies armor. Byleth trips up her opponent as Edelgard staggers the leader. 

“ **Got a bullet in the chamber and this is gonna hurt!”**

Byleth proceeds to drop down and roll under her opponent, popping up behind him and driving her sword deep into his back, ending his life. Edelgard sweeps her ax up, disarming the leader of his ax, but he quickly draws a sword from his belt and answers her next blow with a swift parry, bringing his fist down towards her. 

**“Let it out, let it out, you can scream and you can shout!”**

Before he connects, his fist splits down the middle as Byleth’s sword sweeps up his arm. Edelgard recovers and shoulder checks him, staggering him further. 

**“Keeps your secrets in the shadows and you’ll be sorry!”**

Byleth and Edelgard stop for a split second to adjust their grip on their weapons, and quickly nod to each other as they prepare to finish their enemy. 

**“Everybody's getting numb, and everybody's on the run, and everybody's getting some, everybody’s on the run and…”**

The two of them rush over to the slowly recovering leader, who looks up at the last second to see their ax and sword crossed over each other, aiming for his neck. 

**“This...is... gon...na... hurt!”**

The music ceases in their head, and their blades connect with the bandit leader's neck, sending his severed head flying across the room and landing with a dull thump. Byleth and Edelgard breath heavily as they watch the headless corps of the leader fall to its back, twitching spastically. They wait until the body is still before returning to a more relaxed stance.

S(othis) suddenly exclaims, “Holy Jesus Christ!! That was awesome!!!” Both Edelgard and Byleth do what they can to not act surprised by the sudden outburst, only for a pair of figures to destroy their attempt at acting calm. 

“Fear not!!!” shouts Ferdinand with Dimitri by his side, causing the two young women to jump at their appearance. “For the crown prince and I are…” He observes the chaos that was sprawled before him, “Are...are too late, aren’t we?” Edelgard glares daggers at Ferdinand while Dimitri just scratches the back of his head awkwardly. 

Before Edelgard can say anything to Ferdinand, Claude and Lysithea poke their heads around the entrance, with the former saying, “Is the show over?”

“Yes,” Byleth replies breathlessly, “It’s over.” Her two students sigh with relief as they enter the blood soaked room, careful to avoid any severed limbs and bodies of the dead. 

“Sheesh Teach, you did a number on these guys,” says Claude as he drinks in the sight around him. 

Before Byleth can reply, Felix bursts in, his perpetual scowl targeting Dimitri. “There you are boar,” he barks, “That trail you left is quite a sight.”

Dimitri has a look of pure confusion plasters on his face, “That corps trail? That wasn’t me, I followed it here.”

“Then who could’ve made it then?!” Felix shouts.

They both hear a gentle cough beside them and they turn to Edelgard, who had raised her hand to her shoulder. 

“Wait,” says Ferdinand, looking between the princess and the door as confusion crept upon his face. “That….that was you?” Edelgard nods in confirmation. Ferdinand’s jaw drops to the floor while Claude peaks outside to look at the trail of destruction. 

Felix just tosses his hands up in the air and walks out while shouting “Great!! Now there’s two of them!!!” Dimitri says nothing while avoiding Edelgard’s eyes, and just follows Felix out. Byleth heaves a sigh and leads the remaining students out as well; more specifically, Claude and Lysithea follow without question while Edelgard drags a still stunned Ferdinand by his jacket. 

As they walk, they spot a small group of students consisting of Sylvain, Ingrid, Annette, Dedue, Hubert, and Lorenz approaching, with the first two carrying a large chest between them. 

“Hey Professor!” calls Sylvain, “Guess what we found!” He and Ingrid drop the chest and open it, revealing a large quantity of gold and silver. Everyone gathers around the sparkling chest and fantasizes about what to do with the find, only for Byleth to break all their greed filled hearts. 

“I hate to say this,” she says, “But in all likelihood, as this is technically stolen, the Church is going to confiscate it.” All the students groan as their enthusiasm suddenly deflates, but Byleth tries to perk them up. “That said, I’ll see if the church can’t turn at least part of it towards the academy budget and get some better equipment for you all.”

As the students collect themselves and march towards the entrance, Edelgard hangs further back and speaks with S. 

“Holy crap!” S all but shouts, “You were a one woman army! They swipe left, you dodge right, you lob their limbs off, ahhh!!! It went better than I ever imagined!”

“Thanks for the praise,” Edelgard can only reply in a low voice. “However, if we do this again, maybe we should try to be less obvious to my classmates. Ferdinand just about broke when he saw the mess I made.”

“I can’t guarantee it, but there might be less violent songs I can use.” S replies. Edelgard heaves a quiet sigh as she quickens her pace to rejoin the group, but suddenly remembers something. 

“Hey S, who’s Jes-“

“NO ONE!! NO ONE AT ALL!!!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit, I love how this chapter turned out. Three different song references, the Red Canyon battle, AND Sothis dropping a JC bomb where it doesn't belong. If anyone can guess the hidden song reference, I'll be amazed (Hint: It's the second one). Next week, we return to the monastery, with not much expected to happen. Well, maybe a couple of important things, but, spoilers.


	8. Fake It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "You're such a f******g hypocrite"-Seether

In the forest near the canyon. A pair of bandits sat warily as their captors were arguing over the woman’s apparent drinking problem. 

“How am I supposed to focus on my work unless I have a few drinks before I tackle it?!” she says. 

“Because you can’t focus when drunk,” says the man, “Besides, you keep complaining about not being able to retain a man. Perhaps if you kick your drinking habit and  _ clean your room _ you might get lucky.”

“Oh, shove off with that ‘clean your room’ BS, you know I don’t have time to clean it!”

“Because you keep getting drunk every other day!”

The two bandits had been silent the entire time they argued, and one of them dared to speak his mind. “Um, excuse me.” The arguing couple stop and turn towards the bandit. “If you don’t mind me asking, were you two married at one point?” The answer they gave was a pair of fists that knocked him and his partner out, and when they awoke again, they were dangling off the back of a horse, their arms and legs tied as to prevent them from escaping. 

The horse in question was once Bernadetta’s however…

\--------------

_ Bernadetta stood still in front of her horse. She gripped the reins loosely, but she didn’t attempt to mount it. In fact, she simply stared at nothing as the memory of her first kill replayed itself over and over in her head. The arrow sticking from his eye, the way he tensed up on the ground before going limp, the small trail of blood that trickled down his cheek from the wound.  _

_ Hubert walked by her and noticed how delirious she was. “Bernadetta, are you alright?” he asked. She didn’t respond to his question, though she started to sniffle as the first signs of emotions began to emerge.  _

_ Her voice is barely a whisper when she speaks, “I killed him.”  _

_ Hubert just looked at the ground and knew instantly that she was in no shape to ride on her own. Her hands were starting to shake again, just as they did before the battle. Before her grief gets to her, Hubert takes her free hand. “You can’t ride on your own. Come with me.”  _

_ When his hand touches hers, she tenses up, but gives no resistance as he leads her and her horse towards Byleth, who had just finished tying the bandits so they could be taken to the monastery.  _

_ “Professor?” Hubert asked. Byleth turns to him and notices Bernadetta’s current state.  _

_ “Is something the matter?” she asked.  _

_ “Yes I’m afraid,” he confirms, “Bernadetta here is… shaken up from the battle and… I feel that she may not be able to ride back to the monastery safely. I’ll take her on my horse, but I brought her horse over so the bandits can be taken as well.” _

_ Byleth nods and takes the reins of Bernadetta’s horse, and Hubert leads the young girl to his.  _

\--------------

Right now, Bernadetta was fast asleep, resting against Hubert’s back as they rode with the convoy of students. Next to them rode Dorothea and Ferdinand, the former of which was also deemed unfit to ride alone by Manuela and Ferdinand had volunteered to take her. She looked over at her friend as she slept while also trying to put as much space between her and Ferdinand as the horse allowed, but her concussion left her somewhat unbalanced and, more than once, had to grab onto Ferdinand to keep herself from falling off, much to both their embarrassment. 

On Ferdinand’s other side rode, surprisingly, Dimitri. The two of them had been talking on and off about lance techniques and the differences between Adrestian and Faerghus battle histories outside of the war, only interrupted occasionally by Dorothea slipping in the saddle, or by Hubert correcting Ferdinand on a few of the more obscure facts. 

In fact, many students from each of the houses were intermingling with each other. Claude told a joke that got laughs from his housemates as well as Casper, Ashe, Ingrid, and Sylvain; Raphael was explaining different trade routes to Ignatz, Petra (who was healed enough by Manuela to be able to ride somewhat comfortably), and Annette; and Mercedes and Linhardt managed to even get Marianne to come out of her shell and discuss faith magic with each other. To Byleth, phase two of her plan couldn’t have been going any better. Still, a few students, namely Felix, Dedue, and Edelgard, were quiet. 

Felix was expected, his naturally antisocial behavior and permanent foul mood to blame. Dedue was also quiet, but again, was expected as he was naturally quiet. As for Edelgard, she was riding next to Byleth, quietly watching the other students with her.

Hanneman and Manuela were leading the horse with the bandits on it, and were, for once, _ not _ discussing the state of Manuela’s room, but instead discussing the prospect of future joint missions between the classes. ‘All in all, today couldn’t have gone more perfect.’

“Professor?” Edelgard asked, bringing Byleth out of her silent revelry. 

“Yes, Edelgard?” she asked. 

“Do you mind if we move further back? I have a few questions I need to ask.” 

Byleth’s heart begins to sink. ‘Oh no, she’s onto me.’ “Sure, I don’t see why not,” Byleth says, pulling the reins on her horse to slow down enough to fall out of earshot of any other student. Once they are far enough away, she asks, “So, what’s on your mind?”

“Firstly, I need to ask why you wanted to have us on a joint mission,” says Edelgard, “How were you so confident that we would get along like this?”

Byleth silently signs in relief before giving her answer, “Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t expecting anyone to get along. Seteth’s concern isn’t unfounded. He said, in years past, there was constant conflict between the houses, and, after one rather difficult mission, the houses started fighting each other. Since then, all the houses went on their own missions. I didn’t know this at the time I proposed my idea, though; I just thought it would be of good benefit for you, not just as students, but as the future leaders of Fodlan.”

“I see.” was Edelgard’s only response. She remains quiet for a time before giving her next question, “In that case, you don’t suppose that we would get more joint missions like this in the future?” 

“That’s up to the archbishop,” Byleth says, “I can’t say she’ll say yes every time, but, given the results of this mission, we can certainly look forward to more... if the mood suits her at least.”

Edelgard throws a knowing grin at Byleth, saying, “You say they like you don’t trust her.”

Byleth scratches the back of her head while shrugging, “Eh, I’ve only known her for over a month. I would’ve expected her to at least wait a few more months before allowing this, let us teach you all a little more. Not to mention,” she leans close to Edelgard and whispers in her ear, “I think she’s a little too interested in me.” 

Edelgard’s face scrunches up as these words enter her ear, “Why?”

Byleth pulls away and says with oozing sarcasm “How should I know? If I didn't know any better, I'd say she has a crush on me.” This elicits a small laugh form Edelgard, which in turn puts a bright smile on Byleth’s face. 

They continue riding in silence for a few minutes before Edelgard asks her last question, and causes Byleth to freeze up entirely. 

“On last question. You wouldn’t happen to know of an ‘S’ would you?”

\--------------

At the now appropriately named Red Canyon, stray wolves, bears and other such beasts had descended upon the dead that littered ruins. Because of the immense bounty left by the students, the beasts didn’t pay any mind to the robed figure that entered the ruins, carefully stepping past each corpse as he ventured further. At the back, he enters a small building to find the bloodbath caused by a certain professor and a certain princess. He lowers his hood, revealing pale white skin and stark white hair, his featureless eyes scanning the room. He clicks his tongue when his eyes reach the headless bandit he hired for this task. “A shame.”

“Ah, I see you’ve come, my Lord.” The man turns to find a stray bandit, clutching a wound that should’ve killed him. 

“Well, Odesse, what do you have to report?” the man asks.

The figure of the bandit transforms, revealing a similarly pale skinned man, his wound not as serious as it originally appeared. “The students are exceptionally skilled, and that professor that accompanied them was equally so. However, what caught my attention was how the princess fought, lord Thales.”

Thales looked back at the decapitated bandit, piecing together the events that had happened. “She fought alongside that professor here, yes?”

“Indeed, my Lord.” confirms Odesse, “It was difficult to watch while playing dead, but they were in sync with each other, though they did seem otherwise predictable in combat. I have no doubt against a much better coordinated opponent, they would’ve struggled greatly. There is something about that professor that intrigues me though, and I wish to… study her if possible.”

“That is not possible right now,” Thales responds, “You’ve served your purpose here, and there is no need to continue investigating, for now of course. I need to speak with the Emperor of Flames soon, so you’d best return to your other assignments.” Thales pulls a pointed mask, not too dissimilar to a plague mask, and tosses it to Odesse, who proceeds to put it on. Then, twin pillars of flame engulf the two men, leaving the room empty save for a curious bear who looks greedily at the corpses that still litter the ground. 

\--------------

Seteth stood outside the main gate of Garreg Mach Monastery, watching the road intently. The sun was starting to set, and most of the merchant stalls were closed for the night, though he could hear the gatekeeper talking with the red haired traveling merchant. She had recently put in a request for permanent space in the market square, and the wares she was expecting to sell were of top quality. The paperwork was sitting on his desk, and he planned to discuss this directly with her to negotiate a smaller space than requested, though he had no intention of denying it outright as what she sold was truly valuable.

Right now, though, his mind was centered on the mission that happened today. He had watched the students depart from the far wall by the fishing pond, and he immediately noticed how each of the houses separated from each other. In the past, he had to personally separate a brawl that broke out between all three houses, and got a broken nose and a black eye in the process. His rage at the time was incalculable, even scaring Rhea into hiding in her room for a short period. Since then, none of the houses had been permitted to participate in joint missions, (though, that year also saw a number of other rules made, largely because all the students were troublesome in some way). 

As he shakes his head when the memories replay in his mind, he starts to hear faint singing in the distance. He can’t make out the words, but it sounded like a rather simple song, no real intonations or major shifts could be heard, but the overall rhythm was indicative. He looks down the road and sees the soft glint of swords, axes, and lances as the singing grows louder, with a chorus of voices chanting together. He can hear a few of the lyrics being sung. 

**“It’s our time to shoot the stars, we ain’t gonna stop ‘till the world is ours!”**

He easily identifies the school uniforms, with Byleth, Manuela, and Hanneman leading everyone. What surprised him, however, was that over half of all the students were singing together. Those who weren’t singing were either discussing upcoming assignments, planning for free days, or even scheduling sparring matches and tutoring sessions among themselves. Even the house leaders seemed to be involved in the discussions taking place, with Dimitri planning a sparring match against Ferdinand, Claude leading the singing students, and Edelgard talking with a few of the female non-Black Eagle students about a possible free day spent together. All told, this was the polar opposite of what Seteth expected from the joint mission. 

Hanneman spots Seteth’s shocked expression and gives him a knowing grin while shouting, “I told you they would get along.” Manuela just shakes her head at his comment.

The convoy comes to a halt as everyone dismounts the horses. Seteth calls forward a group of guards to collect the horses and leads the students and professors into the market square. He waits for everyone to gather, and he notices how they are all mixed in together, not separated by house. He turns to Byleth, who had a grin that screamed ‘I told you so.’ This irked Seteth for some reason but he kept his emotions in check, only saying, “I see the mission went well.”

Byleth says, “Yes, we’ve eliminated all but two of the bandits,” as she gestures to the bandits being escorted away by several guards, “And managed to recover a considerable amount of gold and silver in the process.” Her grin fades as she recounts the injuries sustained. “However, a few students suffered injuries. Dorothea suffered mild head trauma, leaving her with a concussion; Raphael took a crossbow bolt to his arm, but was largely healed by Marianne; the most serious though was Petra. She took a powerful blow to her abdomen, causing several of her ribs to break which resulted in internal bleeding and a collapsed lung. It took the combined effort of all three dedicated faith students to save her. Manuela was able to finish what they started, but noted that a few of Petra’s ribs are still recovering and advised minimal strenuous activity until she is fully healed.” 

“I see,” says Seteth, “But, you mentioned a crossbow. I thought the bandits were minimally armed?” 

“We did as well,” Byleth confirms, “But the party was reinforced. Another bandit leader took over and was apparently better equipped than the main target. We were able to defeat them, thankfully.” 

“Very well.” Seteth turns to the waiting students to address them. “You all have done well. Tomorrow will be a free day for all of you to recover. After tomorrow, classes will resume. Also, as of tonight, the gardens and sauna will be open to all students and faculty. Please read the rules put in place before entering the sauna as they will be strictly enforced. As for the gardens, tea and snacks will be provided upon request from the kitchens, and must be requested no less than thirty minutes in advance. Any further questions concerning this can be answered by the head cook in the kitchen. You are dismissed.” 

\--------------

The sun has fully set for the day, and many of the students and faculty are taking full advantage of the reopened areas of the monastery. However, one student is nowhere near the monastery. 

Edelgard, fully dressed as the Emperor of Flames, walks silently through the forest to the agreed meeting point. There, she finds the ever expressionless Thales, and his chief infiltrator, Solon. They both stare at Edelgard as she approaches, and she feels her skin crawl when she stops. 

“I trust the mission set forth for you today went well, yes?” says Thales, his expression remaining neutral. 

Edelgard’s disguised voice echoes through the forest, “It would’ve been easy if you didn’t interfere.”

“It was necessary,” he replies calmly, “Besides, your rash judgment allowed us an opportunity to observe the other students in combat far better than if we simply watched from afar.”

“Indeed,” adds Solon, “The information Odesse gathered will be put to good use when Lonato is… encouraged to fight the church.”

Edelgard silently contemplates the ramifications of this early scouting endeavor, and says, “Has he been supplied with the equipment necessary to begin his rebellion?” 

“Yes, but not by us,” says Thales, “We just need to… push him a little bit to get him to start acting out. We don’t want to expose ourselves too soon. One of our… ‘friends’ in the Western Church will give that push.”

“Very well,” Edelgard responds, “We’d best finish before we are missed, Solon.”

“Of course, Emperor of Flames,” he replies. Pillars of flame engulf the three figures, and Edelgard returns to her room. Once there, she calmly removes her mask, revealing fresh tears that had formed on her face, her eyes narrow. ‘Why? Why did they interfere?’ 

She wipes her face before removing her armor, and replacing everything in the trunk. Once the trunk was under her bed, she sat at her desk and began writing. 

‘Dear Father,’ she wrote, ‘We’ve completed our first mission as of the writing of this letter. It was more difficult than expected, but nothing we couldn’t handle. In my last letter, I noted how all three houses were expected to cooperate during the mission, and expressed how much I opposed this decision. Now, though, I’m convinced that, if we hadn’t worked together, more than a few students would’ve likely lost their lives given how incorrect the initial scouting information had been. Petra, the princess from Brigid, had suffered a serious injury that nearly killed her, but thankfully, the faith students were able to save her. I plan on speaking with her more about the situation between the Empire and her home, and hopefully we can work out a suitable agreement between us. I hope you can stay in good health for a little while longer. I’ll write to you again when I receive your reply. Please stay safe. Your Daughter, Edelgard.’

Edelgard sighs gently when she finishes writing. She wanted nothing more than to stay by his side, but she needed to continue her work here. The fate of the Empire was at jeopardy after all, between the insurrection’s fallout, TWSITD’s machinations, and her father's failing health. Before she seals the envelope, a familiar presence enters the room. 

“So, did the meeting go well?” S asks. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that you could talk to Professor Byleth?” Edelgard asks, irritated. 

\--------------

_ Earlier _

_ “On last question. You wouldn’t happen to know of an ‘S’ would you?” Edelgard asked. She noticed Byleth stiffen up, her eyes staring into the distance. ‘I knew it.’ _

_ “You… you can hear her too?” Byleth questioned, uncertainty in her voice as she turns her head to face Edelgard.  _

_ “For some time, yes,” Edelgard replied, keeping her voice low to avoid being overheard, “How long have you known about her?” _

_ “A few days,” Byleth confirmed in an uncertain tone, “I was... minding my own business in the gazebo when, just out of nowhere, I heard humming. I thought someone was there with me, but when I looked around, I was alone. I called out and I heard someone gasp, then asked if I could hear her. She seemed so scared by it that she just stopped talking. I went back to my room later that night and I heard her again. We talked for a little bit, but she never said anything about you.” Byleth was clearly unnerved for being called out so readily, and Edelgard picked up on her distress immediately. _

_ ‘You’re lying,’ is what Edelgard wanted to say, but Byleth was so shaken by being called out that Edelgard just appeared to accept this at face value, but she would get answers from S herself later that night.  _

_ “For now, let's just stay quiet about it. I don’t want anyone thinking we’re crazy, after all.” Byleth says hurriedly.  _

_ “My thoughts exactly,” says Edelgard, moving her horse forward to rejoin the main group.  _

\--------------

S is quiet for a few moments before she speaks again. “Ah, that. I.. I meant to tell you, but I didn’t want you distracted during the mission. I'm sorry.”

Edelgard closes her eyes, and says, “I understand that, but this is something I needed to know. How can you speak with her anyway?”

“I can only venture a guess, but I think she might have the Crest of Flames as well,” says S.

“Bullshit!” Edelgard suddenly exclaims, causing S to shriek in terror, “No one else could possibly have that Crest!”

“Please don’t get angry,” begs S, “It’s only a theory. Even Hanneman can’t identify her crest.”

Edelgard takes several breaths to calm herself, before glaring at where S’ presence stood, “Next time something like this comes up, let me know immediately!” Edelgard grabs the letter for her father, gets up from the desk and leaves her room, while S simply stays put and watches. If Edelgard were still there, she would’ve heard light sniffling coming from the phantom. 

\--------------

Dorothea let out a content sigh as Ingrid pours water over the hot coals in the sauna. ‘This is nice.’ 

Besides them, Annette, Mercedes, Hilda, Leonie, and Petra are all relaxing in there. Well, relaxing as much as the clothing allowed. 

“Why do we have to wear so much again?” asks Hilda, tugging at the ridiculous two piece outfit they were forced to wear. 

“It’s the stupid rule Seteth has,” confirms Leonie, “He walked in on a couple of students haveing a little...  _ too  _ much fun in here and decided to enact this rule to dissuade it.” Mercedes and Annette blush as they imagine what Leonie meant by ‘fun’ while Dorothea just giggles lightly at the prospect. 

“Why?” asks Petra, “Isn’t the sauna surrogate anyway?” All the women turn and look at Petra in confusion as she realizes her mistake, “Uhm… se- segregated! Yes, that word.” 

This earns a round of laughter from the women while Dorothea answers, “Who knows? It was enacted the same year they suspended joint missions.”

“Still,” adds Ingrid, “They could’ve provided something that at least breathed a little, instead of this itchy piece of crap.”

Silence reigned over the women after Ingrid's comment for some time before Petra says, “I feel like a few more should be here.” 

“Ah,” says Dorothea, “Bernie and Edie said they were tired and wanted to go to bed early.”

“Yeah,” says Hilda, “Marianne said the same thing.”

“I checked with Lysithea before coming here,” adds Leonie, “She said she wanted tea before they closed the kitchen for the night. Something about needing to rest easy for tomorrow.”

“Rest easy?” asks Annette, “Don’t we have a free day?”

Hilda is quick with an answer, “If I know that girl at all, she’ll probably spend all day in the library again.”

“Although,” adds Leonie with a sly smile, “I think it might be for more than just studying.”

This piques Dorothea’s interest, “Oh, what could that be?”

Leonie draws all the women closer after pouring more water on the coals, and whispers, “You didn’t hear this from me, but I think she might have a thing for that boy that hangs around the archbishop all day.”

Mercedes gasps softly and says, “You mean Cyril?” Leonie nods and they all back away, contemplating just what this piece of gossip could mean. “Well,” she says, “What she does with her life is her choice, but I never would’ve thought she would be interested in him.” 

“Eh,” says Leonie, “It’s just an assumption. I’ve seen them together in that library too many times to not think about it.” 

“Oh well,” says Dorothea, “So long as they are happy, we shouldn’t pry too much. Let’s just enjoy this before Seteth kicks us out.” And with that, the women returned to silence as they enjoyed the humid warmth that enveloped the space. 

\--------------

It was late in the night, and most students and faculty have already turned in. Guards patrolled the walls keeping a sharp eye for any potential intruders. However, none of the guards saw it necessary to patrol the grounds, meaning that the lone figure that darted through the halls was missed by them. This figure swiftly moved through the monastery until they reached the now empty sauna, and after checking the building to ensure it is, indeed, empty, they removed their hood, revealing a young girl with stark white hair, and sharp pink eyes. 

‘Finally, I thought I’d never make it,’ thought Lysithea as she changed from her uniform into the two piece sauna outfit. She winced periodically as the clothing rubbed against her scars, but thought little of it. She had pulled a muscle in the battle, and feigned being fine for the march. Now, though, that muscle protested so much that she had to sneak her way to the sauna, hoping the heat would help calm its protests. 

She opens the door to the women’s side, and finds it still full of steam. ‘Odd, I thought it would’ve vented by now.’ Not that it mattered to her; the heat did its job well as her protesting muscle finally began relaxing. She lets out a content sigh, sitting on the bench nearest the coals. However, before she could relax further, a voice calls to her, making her stiffen up I fear.

“Who's there?” the voice asks. She turns to the voice's origin, and finds the silhouette of someone sitting far from the door. 

“Uh… Lysithea?” she says cautiously, unsure of who could be here. “And you?”

“Oh…” The person is quiet for a few minutes before answering the question, “Edelgard.”

‘The princess? Does she think this place belongs to her if she’s here this late?’ Lysithea thinks bitterly. “Why are you here?” 

“I… wanted to be alone,” Edelgard says, “I’m… thinking about some things.”

“What things?” Lysithea asks. 

“I’d rather not say, it’s… private.”

Lysithea just rolls her eyes and turns to face the door. They sit quietly for several minutes before she says, “You know, if you want people to trust you, maybe you should be a little more open with yourself.”

“What?” Edelgard asks, confused.

“I mean,” continues Lysithea, “Ever since you came to the academy, all you’ve done is go to class, talk to Hubert, eat, train, and stay in your room. You stick to your pattern so much that you’ve become predictable, and you hardly talk to anyone outside of your house. How can you be the future empress if you don’t open up a little more?” Edelgard is silent as she contemplates what Lysithea said, but the young girl continues, “I mean, I know I shouldn’t talk, but I don’t have much of a life after this anyway. Do you want to know why my hair is as white as it is?” 

“Uh…” Edelgard is at a loss for words. She moves closer to Lysithea, just enough to see her a little clearer before answering, “Yes.”

“When I was younger,” she begins, “Like, way younger, my family was humiliated by the empire. I don’t know what you were doing, in that palace and all, but my family suddenly found itself under a sort of house arrest, and my siblings and I were locked away from everyone. I don’t remember much, since I was so young, but all I do remember was excruciating pain and these… these… bastards in masks injecting me with Goddess knows what. When they left, my parents told me my siblings died, and I didn’t have much of a future ahead of me.” She then lifts her shirt up enough to show her midriff, and the myriad of old scars that crossed it. “These scars… are my reminder. They tell me I don’t have a future, that I don’t have much to live for. My only hope is that I can help my family in any way I can. That’s why I’m here, so I can give my parents a peaceful future, because I can’t have one.” 

Lysithea lowers her shirt, and turns back to the door, waiting for Edelgard’s response. Edelgard just sat there, drinking in what Lysithea had said. She closed her eyes and said, “They… call themselves Those Who Slither In The Dark. You aren’t the only one who suffered at their hands.”

Lysithea whips around and says, “What do yo-,” and gasps when she finds that Edelgard had also lifted her shirt, revealing near identical scars to her own on her abdomen; unlike hers, though, Edelgard’s seemed newer, like they hadn’t had time to heal over yet. 

“I don’t remember much of my young life, at all really,” Edelgard says as she lowers her shirt, “I only know pain. I struggle to sleep every night because of the nightmares I suffer. I lost everyone in my family because of those damn people, and I want nothing more than to see them eradicated from Fodlan. I-,”

Before she could finish, Lysithea embraces the young princess, while saying, “I’m sorry. I always thought I was alone. I never…” Lysithea couldn’t finish her sentence as sobs began overwhelming her. Edelgard, again at a complete loss, can only hold the young girl. 

They stay like this for several minutes until Lysithea calms down, saying “I always thought I was alone.”

“No,” says Edelgard, “I suffered the same fate. I never thought someone else could’ve survived either.”

Lysithea pulls away from Edelgard and sits next to her while saying, “You know, this is what I mean about opening up. You never know if you’ll find someone like you.” 

Edelgard nods while Lysithea speaks, and responds, “Your right. I… can’t keep myself bottled up like this. Thank you.” 

They sit quietly for several more minutes before Lysithea says, “We should leave before someone finds us.” 

“Yes, let’s,” confirms Edelgard, standing and making for the door behind Lysithea. After changing back into their uniforms, the two women dart down the halls back to the dorms, careful to avoid any stray guard as they move. They exchange final pleasantries before separating, Lysithea to her room, and Edelgard to hers. 

When Edelgard reaches her room, she feels S’ presence within, and she hesitates when her hand reaches her doorknob. She takes several deep breaths before slowly opening her door, and stepping inside cautiously. She closes her door and approaches where S’ is standing near her closet. Edelgard asks the air, “S?”

“Yeah…” S says meekly, lightly sniffling as she does. 

“Have… you been… crying?” Edelgard asks hesitantly. 

“Yeah…. I… I didn’t… I didn’t want to get you hurt.” 

‘She’s on the verge of tears again….’ Edelgard calmly approaches where S stands and says, “Listen, I’m not mad. I… I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn’t have snapped at you the way I did. I just… no… that’s wrong.” Edelgard pauses for a few seconds before resuming, “If we want this to work, we need to be honest with each other. You obviously know a lot more about me than anyone has the right to know, right? Just what do you know about me?” 

“I…,” S sniffles a little and clears her throat before speaking again, “I know you are the Emperor of Flames. I know you visit TWSITD about once a week, and I know that Jeritza and Tomas are not who they say they are. I know what you’ve been through and I also know that you wish to see the Church of Sieros brought down, not because TWSITD wants you to, but because of how much they praise crests as a blessing while you see them as a curse. Need I say more?”

Edelgard stands stock still as everything is laid bare before her. ‘Damn. She  _ really _ knows who I am.’ She collects herself enough to start talking again. “That’s… really on the head there. Um… wow.” 

“I'm sorry…” S whimpers. 

“Oh no, don’t apologize, I’m just… shocked is all.” Edelgard takes a few breaths to calm herself.

“Do you still want my help?” S asks in a quiet voice. 

Edelgard is quick to answer, “Even after knowing everything I’ve done, everything I’m going to do?”

“I won’t say I agree with how you’re going about it, nor do I agree with your ultimate end goal, but I think I can help you find a better path to follow that will benefit... everyone.” S says with slightly more confidence. 

Edelgard pauses and thinks for a few before giving her ultimatum. “I want to trust you. I really do, but I just want you to be honest with me.”

“Of course! Ask me anything and I’ll answer to the best I can.” 

“Who are you really? You're not just another victim, are you?” Edelgard asks. She had been suspicious of who she truly is since they met, and knowing her name might give her a few answers. 

S is quiet for a minute then says, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but I want to try something. Just... brace yourself. Worst case, nothing happens and you’ll have to take me at face value… er… spiritual… value… something like that.”

Before Edelgard could say anything, she felt herself shift inward, as if her soul was being pulled up into her mind, and into a vast empty space with a lone, stone throne sitting in the middle, with a young girl with long, green hair, no older than Bernadetta, sitting upon it.

\--------------

Byleth is sitting at her desk, reading the book on battalions her father had given her. She had spent many countless hours reading this book in the previous timelines, and whoever the author was (none was listed) certainly knew how to write and knew what they were writing about. As she was reading, she was also jotting notes onto a spare sheet of parchment on the desk. ‘Might as well try and get a lesson out of this,’ she thought. However, as she was writing, she suddenly feels herself getting pulled inward. Because she was sitting down while this happened, instead of standing up, she simply fell flat on her butt. She sighs heavily before saying, “Sothis, next time you pull me here, give me… warn...ing....” As she speaks, she turns around to face the throne, only to discover that she and Sothis aren’t the only ones within the space, as a rather shocked Edelgard stood between them. Byleth’s voice dies when she spots the young princess, her eyes growing wide as the color of her face drains away. 

Edelgard is completely lost for words, her head shifting between the professor and the wayward spirit she had befriended. Sothis simply says with a cheeky grin, “I do suppose we owe you an explanation.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that happened.   
> I'd like to take a minute and give a shout out to DrunknHick for pointing out several flaws with last weeks chapter that I hadn't considered while writing and will take into consideration for upcoming chapters. Again, thank you for the criticism.   
> As for next week, I'm going to leave a little hint, and I'd like to see some guesses in the comments as for what's to come.  
> Here is your hint- "I don't know what you had in mind, but here we stand on opposing sides..."


	9. Go To War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Screaming at the ones we love, like we forgot who we can trust…”-Nothing More

_ “__!” _

_ “I’m right here __!” _

_ ‘I’m right here!” _

__ **_“It’s me!”_ **

\--------------

Edelgard shoots up in bed with a startled cry. She looks around her room panicked and realizes that she was only dreaming. ‘Damn, that one was… weird.’ Ever since Sothis dragged her into her ‘throne space’, she had been getting some absolutely strange dreams interspersed with her nightmares. A few were alright, such as walking down the monastery banquet hall but with giant spiders crawling around, (ok, maybe not alright), while others seemed like a fever dream, complete with distorted wildlife, monolithic structures, and more of that damn music that Sothis got her addicted to. She brushes her hands through her hair as she tries to calm herself. Last night’s dream was… different. It wasn’t a nightmare, a flashback, or any of that feverish stuff. She found herself in a beautiful open field, surrounded by roses, sunflowers, and blue tulips. The sky was near perfect, only a small cloud passing by. This field seemed to stretch all the way to the horizon in one direction, but the opposite direction stood, bizarrely, Enbarr’s palace, and just the palace. She could see no sign of the city anywhere. She tried to approach the palace, but it didn’t seem to get any closer as she walked. While she was walking, a voice seemed to call out to her within the Palace, letting her know that he was there, whoever he was. She knew it was definitely a he, but she didn’t know how she knew because it sounded like a small child. While the palace seemed out of reach, the voice drew closer, until it shouted “It’s me!” right in her ear, startling her awake. 

Edelgard groans as she pulls herself from the bed and looks out the half covered window. Mercifully, she had gotten a good night’s sleep in, the red light of the dawning sun painting the landscape before her. She rubs her eyes groggily and begins dressing herself as she remembers that fateful night a couple weeks ago. 

\--------------

_ Edelgard sat before the throne pensively as she drank in what Sothis and Byleth had told her. “If I’m understanding this right, you two have known each other for the last eight years, hence why Byleth can teach and fight as well as she can; you, Sothis, are the Goddess herself, just trapped in Byleth’s head because of Solon; and you, Byleth, do indeed carry the Crest of Flames, and wish to see TWSITD brought down and the Church reformed as well, am I correct?” _

_ “Yes, yes, and yes.” The two other women confirm in unison.  _

_ Edelgard hesitantly asks, “And… your stance on crests?” _

_ “I never meant for them to be as important as they are now,” Sothis replies with a small frown, “Seiros made them important because of my passing as a way to honor me, though it has gotten too far out of hand now. We both want to see their importance reduced a fair bit.”  _

_ Edelgard rested her chin in her hand while thinking, ‘There is something else they're not telling me, something important. Hmmm.’ _

_ “So… what now?” Edelgard asked, unsure of what knowing this could accomplish.  _

_ “Well,” Sothis began, “It’s still early in the year. If we want to bring down TWSITD and put the church in its place, then we need more than just us. Having a couple friends is one thing, but by having the entirety of Fodlan by your side, Rhea will have no choice but to hear you out.” _

_ “But, that will take years,” countered Edelgard, “On top of that,Thales has the Javelins of Light at his disposal. I can’t act out of line with **his** plans without risking the lives of potentially thousands.” _

_ “She has a point,” added Byleth, “We don’t exactly have the luxury of time on our side, and the Javelins also pose a serious threat to everyone.”  _

_ “Well,” said Sothis as she folded her hands together, “If I’m not mistaken, there is a future Duke of Leicester and future King of Faerghus in this monastery. I’m pretty sure with eleven months left to go this year, we can work out a pre-agreement with them before graduation. We saw how well everyone got along on that first mission. Convincing them won’t be much of an issue. But you’re right about the Javelins, though. Hmm, don’t suppose your father could do something, Byleth?” _

_ “Unlikely,” she says, “He has his hands tied with the Knights, and I can’t exactly afford to use his own mercenaries for any extended period of time. Who knows how long it would take to locate the Javelins. On top of that, we don’t want to draw too much attention from the Church either. Discretion is the better part of valor here after all.”  _

_ They all sat quietly in the empty space until Edelgard said, “It’s late. Maybe we can discuss this at a later time. Until then, my agenda stands as is. It’s nothing personal against you, I just don’t want to put my people at risk.” _

_ Sothis seemed ready to protest but Byleth said, “Fair enough. I have to finish planning a lesson anyway.” She threw a glare at Sothis before saying, “By the way, how would you feel about sparing some time. Might want to work on our combat rhythm a little bit.” _

_ “That... actually sounds nice,” said Edelgard, “How does tomorrow sound?” _

_ “Sounds good,” confirms Byleth, “Sothis, if you please.” Sothis rolls her eyes before sending the other two women back to reality. _

\--------------

Edelgard shakes her head as she secures the last button that held her cape in place. She turns to her mirror and gently brushes her hair, and briefly wonders how she would look with her hair done in a ponytail. Curious, she pulls her hair back and examines the style. It looks nice, but she notices several of her scars poking through her collar. Sighing heavily, she drops her hair back down and ties part of it back with her ribbons. Satisfied, she leaves her room and starts walking towards her classroom. 

\--------------

Meanwhile, however, another student wasn’t as motivated. Bernadetta stares off into nothing while she rests in her bed. Normally, she would be knitting, writing, or actually doing her work for class, but right now, and for the last two weeks actually, she had been completely and utterly… empty. The only thing that played in her mind repeatedly were the events in the Red Canyon, and the one man she managed to kill. She’s so listless, she doesn’t even register her door being opened by Hubert, or even register what he says until he gently grabbed her hand. ‘Wait, he’s never gentle!’ A sudden onset of panic sets in as reality returns to her, and she jumps away from Hubert and out of her bed with a yelp, which, in turn, causes him to jump as well. Once she stands up, they both stare at each other in silent shock. 

Several minutes pass until Bernadetta asks, meekly, “W- why are you here?”

“Um..*cough*... Dorothea asked me to come and get you. She said she was worried about you,” he says.

‘She is worried about me?’ Bernadetta begins shaking as the onset of dread and despair overwhelm her. “Oh no… I...I...didn’t mean to make everyone…I-” 

She is shaking so bad now, that her words are muddled and incomprehensible, until Hubert grabs her shoulders and simply says, “Stop.” He isn’t forceful, he isn’t irritated, he seems… concerned. Her shaking dies down as she looks deeply into his pale green eyes. “You shouldn’t isolate yourself like this. I know why you’ve kept yourself locked away here. I saw it at the Red Canyon.” He takes a deep breath before he continues, “Listen, I know I haven't been a terribly good person to you, but I understand just how much help you need. Please, let us help you.” 

Bernadetta just silently nods while Hubert sighs with relief. She looks down at the floor as Hubert pulls away while saying, “You’d best get ready for class. It starts soon.” He walks out and closes the door, leaving Bernadetta to stand there, his words repeating over and over in her head. And somewhere, deep within her soul, the single ember seemed to glow just a little brighter, waiting for just the right spark to set it off. 

\--------------

Claude stands in the chapel, shaking his head in disappointment as scaffolding is erected around several dilapidated statues of the saints. Byleth had tried to get some of the recovered gold and silver turned over for academy use, but instead, the Archbishop had the money directed towards restorations within the monastery, specifically these statues in question. Had Byleth not discretely pocketed a little of the bounty before turning it over, he doubts he would’ve gotten his new bow from her. It appeared like a simple piece of weaponry, but Byleth had gotten it from the red haired trader that set up a permanent shop in the market. The bow had some kind of enchantment, he could tell by how it glowed in the darkness of the armory. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to test it yet as only training weapons were allowed on the training field, for now at least. They still had two more months until  _ real  _ weapons were allowed. Right now, he was finishing his last chore for the day, sweeping between the pews in the chapel. Next to him, Ignatz had also finished polishing the pews. They are about to return their equipment to storage when Ashe, who was also cleaning with them, interrupts.

“Hey guys,” he says, “Can I ask a favor?”

“Sure,” Claude responds, “Go ahead.”

“I was wondering if I could train with you today,” Ashe says, “I’m the only real bow user in the Blue Lions, so I don’t really have anyone else to train with.” 

“I don’t see why not,” Claude turns to Ignatz, “Do you see a reason?”

“No, not really,” Ignatz says, “We were actually going to train with Petra, Bernadetta, and Leonie today was well. Should be fun with six of us.” 

Claude, Ignatz, and Ashe hastily return their cleaning equipment to storage, and the three of them quickly make their way to the training grounds, finding it bustling with activity. The ranged combat grounds have Hubert, Lysithea, Annette, and Dorothea firing off their spells at their targets, while Petra, an impatient Leonie, and a somewhat terrified Bernadetta wait for them to finish. On the close combat grounds, in one corner Ferdinand and Dimitri are a flurry of sparks and steel as they clash their lances against each other. In another corner, Ingrid and Felix are locked in an equally fierce duel with swords. In the third corner, most of the other students are waiting for the other participants to finish. In the last corner, Byleth is, much to Claude’s surprise, instructing Edelgard and Marianne in proper sword fighting technique. Their moves were long and drawn out as to build familiarity with their weapons. Marianne seemed to be catching on, though her constant hesitance made quick follow-throughs difficult. Edelgard, however, seemed more like an adept out of practice, even going so far as to take a few practice swings at a target dummy and leaving deep gashes across it.

All told, Claude was impressed that everyone was cooperating and getting along as well as they were. ‘Guess that joint mission was of benefit after all.’ The four mages finish their last spells, leaving the ranged grounds open for the sextuplet of archers. They make their way over and set up targets for their arrows to strike.

\--------------

**“‘Till the roof comes up, ‘till the lights go out, ‘till my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth…”**

The chorus rang in the heads of the dueling women as their swords rhythmically clashed between them. Sothis had chosen this song specifically because of its relatively mild tempo, allowing Edelgard to keep herself at a smooth pace as she gets used to handling a sword again. Neither Byleth nor Edelgard could make heads or tails about what this song could possibly be about, or what happens when a roof ‘comes up,’ but it certainly kept them motivated in a strange way. 

Most of the training grounds had emptied out by now, leaving only Ferdinand and Dimitri to continue dueling each other, Byleth and Edelgard to practice, and Claude and Ashe to personally tutor Bernadetta while Hubert and Dedue watched quietly. As they train though, the music suddenly stops while Sothis says in a slightly panicked voice, “Oh shit, this isn’t good.” 

Byleth and Edelgard stop, their swords still locked between them. Their sudden silence causes the now exhausted Ferdinand and Dimitri to stop as well, while the others just look up from what they are doing. They all hear metallic footsteps as a pair of knights emerge from the hall, with Seteth standing between them. 

“The Archbishop wishes to speak with Prince Dimitri and one Ashe Ubert.” he says in a calm voice. 

Ferdinand groans quietly and says, “Just as it was getting good,” while an equally disappointed Dimitri just shrugs before returning his weapon to the rack. Ashe is a little more hesitant, but returns his bow anyway. They both stand behind Seteth and follow him down the hall, the footfalls of the knights fading away.

“Wha...what was that ab..about?” Bernadetta stutters out, still somewhat fearful of Seteth. 

“Beats me,” says Claude, “Maybe we should call it a day.” 

“Very well,” says Byleth knowing full well what is going to happen, “Let's just make sure to clean up before we leave.” As they clean, Byleth and Edelgard exchange worried looks as they return their swords to the weapons racks.

“I’ll wait outside the Archbishop’s audience chamber for Dimitri. He’ll explain what's going on later,” says Dedue as he leaves the training grounds. 

“I think the rest of us should get something to eat,” says Claude, “No good sleeping on an empty stomach after all.” 

With that, the remaining students and professor walk down the courtyard to the dinning hall, all but two of them unaware of the news that will shake the entire monastery.

\--------------

It is close to sundown, and Sylvain stands in the market square perusing the armor stall’s wares; at least, he feigned interest as his attention was more drawn to the red haired beauty across the way. He wears a sour expression as the shopkeeper in question is flirting with the useless gatekeeper. ‘No, the gatekeeper is flirting with her,’ he reminds himself. 

“Listen kid,” says the impatient armorer, “Unless you plan to buy something right now, I have to ask you to leave. I need to close up for the night.”

“Oh,” says Sylvain, “My apologies. I don’t see anything in my budget tonight. Take care.” Sylvain hurriedly leaves as the disgruntled armorer rolls his eyes and begins locking away what he had on display. As he scurries away, Sylvain spots the gatekeeper biding the shopkeeper goodnight and leaving the courtyard as a fresh set of guards man the walls. The shopkeeper seems to giggle somewhat as she rests her finger on her chin, lost in thought. ‘Goddess, the way she does that. Ah, now’s my chance.’ He calmly walks toward her as she closes her stall for the night, but before he reaches her, someone grabs the back of his coat and quite rapidly drags him out of the courtyard, letting out a rather unmasculine yelp as this happens. He turns around to find that Ingrid was responsible for the embarrassing display. 

“Ingrid!” he exclaims, “What was that for?!”

Ingrid turns to face him, her face filled with worry, “Dimitri needs us.”

“Why?” Sylvain asks in a foul tone, “It can’t be that important.”

“It’s Lonato.” 

“Lonato? You mean Ashe’s-” 

Ingrid interrupts, “He’s staging a rebellion against the Church.” Her eyes drift down and stare at the floor, “Ashe isn’t taking the news well.”

“WHAT!?” Sylvain exclaims, any sign of irritation lost. “Why? What for?”

“Dimitri says it might be because of what happened with Christophe. The Knights have already been sent to quell it.” Ingrid is almost to the point of tears.

“Oh shit,” Sylvain whispers. He knew Lonato had severe reservations about the Church, but he never expected him to go forth with a rebellion. It was almost suicide. “Where’s Dimitri and Ashe now?”

Ingrid wipes her face before giving an answer, “In our classroom. Come one.”

Sylvain and Ingrid almost sprint to the classroom, and find a surprising number of non-blue lion students present as well as the rest of their house. Outside the room, Edelgard and Claude are discussing the likelihood of a joint operation between the three houses again, and if it would be to target Lonato’s rebellion. Inside, near the door, Hilda, Lorenz, Ferdinand, and Casper discuss what could’ve possibly driven Lonato to want to fight the Church, though those who knew the lord personally knew exactly why. Towards the front, their housemates were gathered around a sniffling Ashe, with Hanneman trying to comfort him in front while Mercedes hugged the young boy from behind. Dimitri is off to one side, discussing possible outcomes with Byleth, while Felix scowls quietly off to the other. Everyone else is scattered throughout the room, their discussions all about the same thing: Lonato’s rebellion.

Sylvain calmly approaches Ashe, whose eyes are red and lips trembling as his mind drifts between Lonato and his younger siblings. “I…” the young boy stammers, “I just want them to be safe…”

“They will be, Ashe,” assures Hanneman, “I am certain that the Knights will take good care of your little brother and sister when they reach them. Have faith.” 

Before Sylvain could add any words of comfort, Felix whispers bitterly, “Have faith?” This draws everyone’s attention, their conversations going quiet.

“Felix?” Sylvain asks.

“How can we have faith?” the dark haired boy asks, his volume raising with each question, “How do we know we can trust them? How do we know we can trust Ashe? For all we know, he could be-”

“Watch it, Felix.” Interrupts Dimitri, having placed himself between Felix and Ashe, “Don’t say something you know you’ll regret.” 

“Like you have any right, Boar!” shouts Felix, “Why should I listen to you when you can’t eve-” Before he finishes, Sylvain charges the young swordsman and pins him against the wall. 

“SHUT UP!’” he shouts, grabbing Felix by his collar and raising him off the ground, “LIKE THAT EVEN MATTERS!” Sylvain takes a breath before continuing, “Our friend is hurting, the last thing you need to do is hurt him even more!” Felix wears an expression of pure shock while his normally easy going friend wears one of pure rage. 

Byleth walks up to them and orders, “Sylvain, put him down please.” She is calm and expressionless, although her eyes radiated pure disappointment. Sylvain takes a few deep breaths as he lowers Felix. Byleth then says, “Felix, go,” as she points to the door. Felix huffs as he leaves, slamming his fist against the door frame and eliciting a surprised yelp from Claude while Edelgard shouts “What the fuck?!” at the swordsman. Annette, surprisingly, follows him, apologizing to the two as she does. The students all look towards the door with worry, not daring to say a word. 

After calming himself further, Sylvain turns to the sulking Ashe and approaches him. “Look at me,” he says. Ashe tilts his head upward and is greeted by Sylvain’s usual carefree grin. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just as worried as the rest of us. He just has trouble expressing that.” 

Ashe simply nods while everyone else watches, appreciative of Sylvain’s now calm demeanor. 

Mercedes then says, “Come on, I’ll take you to your room.” She takes Ashe’s hand and leads him out of the classroom, and most of the other students follow suit. The remaining students (Sylvain, Ingrid, Dimitri, Dedue, Edelgard, and Claude) and two professors just step outside and start discussing what’s going on. 

“So,” begins Sylvain, “What exactly has happened?”

“Here’s what I was told,” Dimitri says, “Lonato attacked one of the outlying chapels in his territory. This is what drew the Church's initial attention. Last week, one of the Knights was sent to interrogate him for answers, and…” He closes his eyes and bows his head, “The knight came back…...in pieces.” 

This elicits a gasp from everyone, with Ingrid turning away and holding back tears. Byleth and Hanneman share a concerned look before Byleth says, “I’m going to check on my father. He might be taking this hard,” and takes off for her father's office. Sylvain clenches his fist, nearly drawing blood as his nails dig into his palms, while Claude and Edelgard share equal stares of shock at Dimitri. Dedue is the only one that remains calm. 

“That son of a…” whispers Sylvain, “When I get my hands on him.” 

“We won’t have a chance,” says Dedue, “The Archbishop made it clear that we are to not intervene unless she wishes it.” 

“But we can’t just sit here,” responds Ingrid after collecting herself, “What he did is disgraceful. He can be stripped of his title for what he’s done,” she turns to the prince, “Dimitri, can’t you or your uncle do something?”

“We can’t,” he says, “Once the church is involved, it’s out of the kingdom's hands. Besides,” he clenches his fist, “I doubt my uncle would even do anything,” he says with a small ounce of hatred present. A low rumble of thunder is heard overhead, startling everyone present. The faint scent of fresh rain wafts over them as the wind picks up. 

“Listen,” says Hanneman as his eyes track the darkening sky, “Right now, the only thing we can do is have faith. Focus on keeping Ashe in high spirits,” he turns to the remaining house leaders, “Edelgard, Claude. I’d hate to ask this, but I would like to have all the classes together for a few days, mostly to support Ashe and what he’s going through. The more support he has, the sooner he’ll start feeling better.”

Claude answers first, “Sure. I don’t mind. What about you, princess?”

Edelgard bites her lip as she contemplates her answer, and says, “Hubert might not agree to it... but everyone else won’t have a problem. I just need to talk to him.” 

“Thank you,” says Dimitri with a sad but appreciative smile, “It’s late and a storm is coming. We’d best turn in for the night.” The group bids goodnight to Hanneman as he returns to his office, and they all remain quiet as they return to their rooms; however, Ingrid spots a crying Annette just outside the training grounds, and breaks away from the group to comfort her. 

“Hey,” she asks calmly, “What happened?”

Annette collects herself somewhat as she explains. 

\--------------

_ Felix had entered the training grounds with an enraged huff. He ripped a sword from the rack, nearly bringing the entire thing down. He grabs a training dummy and sets it up in the middle of the field, but before he enters a stance, he hears his name called behind him.  _

_ “FELIX!” The voice shouts. He turns around only for a hand to slap him in his face, hard enough to drop the sword and nearly send him sprawling. He stumbles slightly and recovers to find a thoroughly enraged Annette. He had never seen her so angry, as she is normally happy and upbeat. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” _

_ “Wha…” Felix is lost for words as Annette continues. _

_ “Our friend just got told that his adoptive father is going to war against the Church and his little siblings are in danger and you think it appropriate to accuse him of being a traitor?! Why?!” If anyone else were present, their ears would be ringing for how loud she was screaming.  _

_ “I…” Felix couldn’t think of an answer.  _

_ “Answer me!” Annette shouts, her voice cracking from the strain, “Answer me, damn it!” _

_ Felix says nothing, and turns his back towards her. His fist is clenched hard enough that veins are visible. His eyes are shut tight and no words come from his mouth. He can hear light sniffling behind him. A low rumble of thunder is heard overhead, signaling an oncoming storm.  _

_ “You know,” Annette whispers, her voice failing her, “You always call Dimitri a boar, but you act like one more than he does.” Somehow, her words pierce his heart like a stake. He hears her footsteps rush out of the training grounds as he turns to face her, but before he says anything, she’s gone.  _

\--------------

Ingrid throws a glare into the hall that leads to Felix as Annette silently cries once more. Ingrid picks up Annette and embraces her, trying to get the young girl to calm down. Unfortunate, they both feel the first drops of rain as the dark clouds slowly move overhead. Ingrid holds Annette gently and leads her back to the dorms as the rain grows steadily in strength. Several servants rush by, carrying cloaks to be given to the gate guards. As they walk, Ingrid turns her head one last time to find Felix standing outside the hall. From this distance, she can’t make out his expression, but she throws one last glare at him anyway as the rains start to flood the courtyard, soaking the two women as they reach Annette’s room. 

\--------------

‘Shoot,’ Mercedes thought as the rain came down hard enough to make walking impossible, ‘I might be trapped here for the night.’ She closes the door to Ashe’s room and turns to him, finding him curled up in his bed. He isn’t asleep yet, though his eyes stared at nothing as the news from today plagued his mind. She walked to his bedside and kneeled down next to him, and gently ran her fingers through his hair. This brings him back to his senses somewhat, though she knew it would be some time before he could recover. “Are you going to be alright?” She asks. 

“No,” he whispers, “I… just want them to be safe.” He had repeated this many times in the classroom, and Mercedes knew that he meant not just his siblings, but Lonato as well. There was little she could do to comfort him, but she looked into his eyes as she made him an offer. 

“You need to rest. Tomorrow, I want to come train with you on the archery range. I might not be a good shot yet, but I’m sure you can help me. Will you help me?” In truth, she just wants to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. She had seen depression like this before, and a few of her old friends from before the academy had scars on their wrists as testament to this. 

“Yes,” was his only response, barely a whisper. 

She knew that sleep would be difficult for him, so she started to gently hum one of the hymns they practiced with the choir. Ashe’s eyelids grow heavy as she hums, though his body is still tense. She pulls a blanket over him, covering his body. As his eyes drift shut, Mercedes plants a gentle kiss on his forehead, and all the tension in his body is released as he drifts to sleep. 

Mercedes stands up, smiling gently as she looks at Ashe, but the smile changes to a look of embarrassment as she realizes what she just did. “Did I just… I didn’t… but I…” Her mind is sent a flutter as she backs away from Ashe. 

‘It can’t be like that. I… I've only known him for over a month. I can’t like him like that yet,’ she thinks to herself, ‘Besides it was to help him sleep, yes. Help him sleep. Yes he’s charming, noble… friendly… handso-NO! BAD MERCEDES! BAD!’ As she continues to lie to herself, she hears the rain start to subside just enough that she is willing to dare venturing out and running to her room. 

But before she does, she hers a faint whisper from Ashe, “Don’t go.” She stops and turns to him, but he is still clearly asleep. 

‘Maybe he talks in his sleep,’ she tries to convince herself ,but she feels as if it is directed at her. She moves away from the door and back to the edge of his bed, looking at his sleeping form. An ironic smile adorns her face as she silently pulls his desk chair and sits down in it, allowing sleep to overcome her. 

\--------------

Sothis is not happy. She is laying on her stomach on her throne, her legs dangling off one arm while she rests her head on her arms on the other. She shot an irritated glare at Edelgard, knowing full well she was partially responsible for Lonato’s rebellion. 

“Did you encourage this directly?” She asks. 

“No,” says Edelgard, “Not directly. The Western Church were the ones who were responsible. This is part of Thales plan, not mine.”

Byleth stood next to Sothis’ throne, resting her chin in her hand. “Do you know why?” She asks. 

“It is to set up the next step of his plan. He intends to invade the Holy Mausoleum next month during the Rite of Rebirth. His target is the Tomb of Saint Seiros. He’s planting a red herring on Lonato that suggests that we will attempt to assassinate the Archbishop.”

Byleth and Sothis glance at each other, before the latter addresses Edelgard again, “Listen, we understand you need to work with them for your people’s sake, but even we find recent events to be getting out of hand. Isn’t there any way you could, I don’t know, start rebelling against him?”

“Not without putting too many lives at risk,” Edelgard responds as desperation fills her voice, “He already doesn’t trust me as it is. He knows I want nothing more than to watch him burn. He has the Javelins of Light over my head, and on top of that, my father, the only family I have left, is at risk. There is nothing I can do without incurring his wrath.” 

Byleth nods silently as Edelgard speaks, while Sothis buries her face in her arms, saying in a muffled voice, “This is becoming harder than I thought.” 

“Still,” whispers Byleth, “At least everyone here is getting along.” 

“It’s late,” says Sothis after she sits upright, “You two need to get some rest. And Byleth, see about talking to Felix. I think there’s more going on with him than he’s showing.” 

“I will if I get the chance,” says Byleth. Sothis then sends her friends back to reality while she remains in her ‘throne space’. She heaves a heavy sigh as she sinks into her throne. ‘I really hope this all goes according to plan before the end of the year.’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that took a turn.   
> I do hope you all enjoyed this one. I won't be leaving any cryptic hints for next chapter because I think everyone knows where this is going now. Anyway, hope to see you all next week.


	10. Dance with the Devil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Say goodbye, as we dance with the Devil tonight..."- Breaking Benjamin

Anna was setting up a few new pieces she had found on one of her recent adventures. One was a steel breastplate with an intricate serpent etched across the front, while the other was a pair of sabatons with a similar design. They weren’t from Fodlan, that much was obvious, and the traveler she bought them from had no idea as to their origin, either. Regardless, they certainly looked appealing, and a number of guards had already started placing bids on this silent auction she was hosting. 

She set such auctions up once a week with items that haven’t sold in past months, and the guards were fierce with their bidding. All it did was make her coin purse heavier by the end of it. She had no emotional attachment to anything she sold; however, the pretty floral hair band she got from John the Gatekeeper certainly held a fair amount of attachment. 

They had been flirting off and on for the last several weeks and she recently proposed an actual date in a few days. His cute stammering when she asked had made her blush a fair bit, and she certainly looked forward to it. As she returned to behind her stall counter, she heard a commotion erupt on the ramparts. 

“John!” One of the panicked guards shouts,’”Get the gate open!” He opens the gate without question, and a gravely injured knight on a tired horse stumbles inside. Anna gasps at the condition of the guard: his left arm is bent at an odd angle, his right foot missing entirely, he has one eye swollen shut, and his chest has a deep gash that runs across it. How he is even alive, she didn’t know. She and John rush to the knights side, and gently remove him from his horse. Thanks to her travels, she has a general knowledge of faith magic, and begins healing the injured knight as John asks him what had happened. 

“Shit… it all went to shit,” the knight says in a half gargled voice, signaling internal injuries, “They ambushed us. Mages rolled in a fog bank. Seven of us got killed in the initial attack. We fought back, but they were cunning. Drove the rest of us out of that damn forest. I had the last good horse left, so I came here as fast as I could. The rest are… *cough*... are almost here.” He grimaces in pain as Anna’s magic did it’s job, closing the wound on his chest and repairing his internal damage. A trio of guards rush out of the gate to meet the other survivors while one other sprints towards Jeralt’s office. 

Several minutes later, the once peaceful market square is bustling with activity, though a grave feeling wafts through the air as more injured knights fill the area. Those whose lives were in mortal danger due to their injuries had been taken to Manuela’s office, while the rest were tended to by lesser faith mages, among them Anna. Jeralt had entered the square, and his daughter had followed him in. Their grave expressions examined the injured knights, taking in the scope of what they were dealing with. Anna finishes healing a particularly gruesome wound and turns away, mostly to avoid showing her nauseated expression to everyone. She had never seen anyone in such a state, let alone such a large group of people. She feels someone gently grab her shoulder and she turns to find a very concerned Byleth.

“You gonna be alright?” Byleth asks, her voice unsteady.

“I don’t know,” Anna replies, rubbing her arms as discomfort fills her, “I’ve never seen anything like this, and I’ve seen some terrible things in my travels. It’s one thing to survive a battle, but this is...” her words die in her throat as she nods towards one of the survivors who had one of her eyes gouged out as a mage tries fruitlessly to ease her pain. Anna feels her eyes fill with tears as the scope of their injuries becomes clear to her. 

“I know,” Byleth says, her voice sounding increasingly panicked, “I fear what Rhea might have us do in response. I’m worried my students might have to get involved. The rest of the knights are at Almyra’s border right now fending off a string of attacks, and there aren’t enough guards to send out.” Byleth notices something behind Anna, and says unsteadily “I think John isn’t taking this well, either. You need to talk to him,” she points to where the man in question was sitting, holding his head in his hand as sobs threaten to overwhelm him. 

Anna breaks away from Byleth and walks over to John. She can hear him sniffling and notices him shaking from the sight before him. She kneels down to try and say something, but her words die in her throat as she comes up with a better idea. ‘Words won’t reach him, but this will.’ She sits closer to him and reaches her arms around his quivering form from the side. He stops shaking as she embraces him, and he reaches his free hand up to grab her arm, leaning into her embrace. She buries her head into his shoulder while he rests his head on hers as sobs overwhelm them both. 

\--------------

The next day dawns, and the market stalls are closed as the students of the academy gather in preparation for their next mission. Because Hanneman and Manuela had to tend to the injuries sustained by the knights, Byleth requested Catherine and Shamir’s assistance for the mission. The Church also spent some of its reserve treasury hiring Jeralt’s mercenaries to supplement the students should it be needed. 

Unlike the last mission, each of the students had been equipped with the highest quality armor and weapons that could be afforded to them based on their personal preferences and current academic level. A few students, namely Dimitri, Ingrid, and Marianne, had horses ready for battle as well. Right now, though, everyone was nervous. On the last mission, everything had been pretty much set up for them by the knights. Sure, they could never have predicted a separate bandit group would take over the first, but at least the battle was straightforward and simple. Now, though, they didn’t know what to expect. They were blind and had no back up if things went south. 

Byleth takes a deep breath before addressing the students, “Listen up,” she pauses to steady her voice, “I know most of you are not looking forward to this next mission. We all saw the condition of the knights. This isn’t some disorganized bandit group we are up against. We must treat our enemy as a properly organized army if we hope to defeat them. Also, we have no element of surprise this time. Here’s what we do know; they have mages that are creating a fog barrier that will hinder our vision. Until they have been killed, we must stick together. I don’t want anyone to get separated from the main group. Also, we know they have some disciplined soldiers among their ranks. Once we reach the staging area designated by Catherine, we will discuss our final strategy. The horses are waiting. Let’s move.”

\--------------

Everyone was quiet as they marched. Unlike the last mission where everyone was singing, making plans, and building their relationships, there was no frivolous mood among the students as an air of uncertain dread filled each of them, though none more so than Ashe. 

He couldn’t imagine his adoptive father becoming so vile as to practically torture his enemy, and to leave them crippled for life. Visions of his brother and sister plagued his mind as he imagined the fate that could have befallen them. His hands shook as he gripped the reigns of his horse, and his breathing was unsteady. Even Bernadetta seemed more composed than him, though she appeared more distant than she was present. 

As he shook, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He looked over to find Mercedes with her ever gentle smile adorning her face. He felt his shaking abate somewhat as he returned the smile, though his siblings are still on his mind. 

As this happened, a lone swordsman watched them. Felix sat on the far fringe of the group, putting as much distance between himself and everyone else in the convoy as he could. In fact, he had done this for the last two weeks after his accusation against Ashe. He trained alone, ate alone, worked alone, never asking anyone for help nor giving any. As they marched, he thought back to the night before, when Byleth confronted him…

\--------------

_ Felix trained alone, his swings wild and his stance awkward as he fought back tears of frustration. The last two weeks have been Hell for him. Normally, he’d have Dimitri, Ingrid, even Sylvain to train against, putting his skills to a genuine test against worthy opponents. Now, they avoided him almost religiously. Anytime he called Dimitri ‘boar’ now, he’d get glares from everyone, even the other houses. Anytime he approached Ingrid to spare, she’d walk off to another student to spare against them. Sylvain was the same way, though he sent hate filled glares his ways while Ingrid just ignored him. The other students weren’t much help either, no one daring to get within ten feet of him. Hence why he’s here now, alone, in the middle of the night, venting his frustrations the only way he knew how, by destroying the dummies in front of him.  _

_ He heard someone approach him from behind, but he disregarded them, focusing wholly on his target.  _

_ “Hey!” the person called, but Felix doesn’t turn around to face them.  _

__

_ “What do you want?” He asks with a small amount of poison present.  _

_ “Fight me,” the person demands. Felix slowly turns around to find Professor Byleth, her sword drawn and standing in a relaxed stance, her feet shoulder-width-apart, her sword sitting limply in her right hand. He looked into her eyes to find them raw and bloodshot, obvious signs of tears, though her expression was otherwise neutral.  _

_ “As you wish,” he responds with a glare, sprinting straight at her, his sword ready to strike her down. But she brings her sword to bear and parries his strike towards the ground. She grabs his sword hand and twists, disarming him effortlessly. In a panic, he tries to pull away, but her grip on his arm is firm as she forces him to the ground.  _

_ “Again,” she says, letting him go and backing off, allowing a chance for him to grab his sword and attempt to strike her down again. They continue this for some time, until the moon has reached its zenith and started drifting to the west. Every time he tries to strike, she disarms him and forces him to the ground, never attacking herself. She is silent the whole time, while Felix shouts with every attack, only to fail every time.  _

_ “Enough,” Byleth says after the fiftieth time he failed to strike her. This time, she doesn’t let go, and kicks his sword behind her. “You’re slow, you’re predictable, and you’re frustrated. You cannot hope to win in battle if you let your frustrations be the better of you.” _

_ “And why would you care?” He hisses as he tries fruitlessly to break from her grasp. _

_ “Because no matter what you do, what you’ve done, you are still my student, and I would sooner burn in Hell than see you die on that battlefield tomorrow.” She finally lets go, and he quickly stands to his feet. She continues, “The only one to blame for recent events here is you. You accused Ashe of being a traitor, you nearly told everyone a matter sensitive to Dimitri without his consent, and you have done nothing to try and atone for your mistakes. Why?”  _

_ ‘Why?’ In all the two weeks, he had never thought of why he had done this. He looked at the ground as he thought of an answer, but nothing came to him.  _

_ Byleth, knowing she wouldn’t get a straight answer, then says, “You don’t need to answer now, but we all expect an answer by tomorrow. I don’t care when, or how, but you need to explain yourself to the people that still care about you. They might not show it now, but your friends are deathly worried about you. You’d best get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be rough, and I need everyone to be ready.” She turns, grabs his sword off the ground, and returns both swords to the racks. After one final glance at the young swordsman, she leaves the training ground.  _

\--------------

The convoy halts their approach as they survey the forests before them. A dense fog envelopes the trees, making proper navigation impossible. Thankfully, Sothis was unhindered, and reported her findings directly to Byleth who had moved further ahead to try and get a clearer view into the fog. 

“Lonato’s in there, but I couldn’t find Ashe’s siblings. He’s got three mages making the fog, and his soldiers are armed to the teeth. Crossbows, standard bows, swords, lances, axes, gauntlets, cavaliers, he’s not effing around.” Byleth rolls her eyes at Sothis’ attempt to self censor. 

“If you’re going to say ‘effing’, do me a favor and just say ‘fucking’.” Byleth whispers. 

“Alright, he’s not  _ fucking _ around. Happy?” She says exasperated. “Anyway, how are we doing this?” Again, Byleth rolls her eyes and returns to the convoy, who had all dismounted for the briefing. 

“Can I have the mages come forward for a few?” Byleth asks the crowd. Dorothea, Hubert, Lysithea, Marianne, Mercedes, Linhardt, and Annette step forward. “Before we begin making our plan, I need to ask a few questions from you all. First, we understand that this fog bank is being made by mages. Given the density and size, about how many mages would you say are maintaining this fog?”

The students discuss among themselves for a few, before Lysithea steps forward with her answer, “Given who we are up against, we calculated about three mages are maintaining this. A sufficiently powerful mage could maintain this on his or her own, but to actually create a fog bank of this size would require at least three working in tandem with just how dense the fog is.”

“Very well,” she then turns to the two knights who joined them, “Catherine, Shamir, have there been any other reports of dense fog in the region.”

“No,” Catherine confirms, “The fog banks have only been reported one at a time, always within about two to three miles of the last.”

“If that’s the case,” Byleth says, “Then we can assume they have at least three mages at all times. If we hope to gain any advantage today, the mages need to be targeted first.” She turns to the convoy to give her plan. “Next question, and this is for everyone. I want your opinions as to the best strategy for dealing with an enemy as obscured as this. Any suggestions?”

Dimitri steps forward first, “I’d say we split up. We can cover more ground and find these mages quicker than if we stayed together.”

Claude, however, disagrees, “While, yes, we can cover more ground, we don’t know what Lonato’s capable of, nor do we know what soldiers he has at his disposal.”

“Claude’s right,” confirms Edelgard, “Splitting up would just get us killed. But Dimitri’s not wrong either. We can defend ourselves better if we split up into a few large groups as opposed to many smaller groups.”

Byleth smirks at the house leaders suggestions, “Exactly. Between Catherine, Shamir, and I, we can split into three groups and fan our way through the forest. I need to ask, would you feel more comfortable splitting into your houses, or just mixing the groups?”

Much to her surprise, Dimitri says, “We should stick to our respective houses. While we can certainly benefit from mixed exposure to each other, for now, it would be easiest to stick to our own. We can identify each other faster in the fog without exposing ourselves to the enemy.”

All the students nod at Dimitri’s suggestion, and begin organizing themselves into their respective houses. 

“Very well,” says Byleth, “Eagles, you will be with Shamir, and Lions, you will be with Catherine. Deer, you're with me. The mercenaries will wait outside the fog until it is cleared, then they will move in to assist us in eliminating the rest. We will all stick together until we encounter the first enemies, then we’ll split off from there. As we eliminate the mages creating this fog, I want the houses to bring themselves back together before we confront Lonato if it’s possible. If anyone encounters Lonato before then, do what you can to eliminate him, or avoid him if you can’t face him alone. And whatever you do, don’t let anyone escape, and most of all, don’t die. We march in five minutes, so do any last minute checks before we enter. Dimitri, Ingrid, Marianne, mount up. We didn’t armor your horses for show, after all. And Marianne, be ready to move quickly between groups if necessary. You might be needed.”

\--------------

“Lord Lonato!” A single soldier approached the rebellious lord as he gave final orders to a few others. He turns to the scout as he approaches, and nods for him to continue, “I’ve scoured the area in the monasteries direction, and spotted a retaliatory force marching in. It looks like they sent the students to face us.”

“What?” Of all the people he would face, he couldn’t imagine facing the students. “Is the Church truly that cruel? To send the students who likely never fought a real battle in their lives to their deaths? Very well. If they wish to fight, don’t hesitate to end them. I pray the Goddess can give them peace once they take their last breath.” 

The scout continues, “They also sent a mercenary group with them. I recognized them though. They are Jeralt’s mercenaries. If they’ve hired them, then they want us all dead. They also have one of the professors, it seems, and two other knights.” 

‘Jeralt’s mercenaries?!’ He couldn’t believe that the church would send  _ that _ band after them. Either he seriously did damage to their ranks, or they didn’t want to waste more knights against him. But they sent two more anyway. “Which ones?” He asks. 

“One looks like an archer, but that other one…” he takes a deep breath before continuing, “Is her. The one that took your son.” 

Lonato saw red. “So, that woman has come then. If she truly thinks she can show her face in this region and not suffer the consequences, then she will pay for it in blood. Alert the soldiers. Prepare for battle. And let me know where that woman is once you spot her. I will deal with her myself.”

“But, she has her relic with her, if you attack-.” 

Lonato interrupts, “The Goddess is on our side this day. Her relic will fail her and we will reign victorious. Rally the troops and defend the mages. The battle begins now!” 

The forest erupts into a mighty roar of rage as the soldiers draw their weapons and place themselves between the mages and the soon to advance students. 

\--------------

Catherine feels a shiver down her spine as everyone hears the war cry. Her grip on Thunderbrand tightens as her eyes scan the hostile forest before her. Next to her, Shamir looks in her direction, and asks, “You gonna be alright?”

“I hope so,” Catherine says with little confidence, “I can’t help but feel like that war cry is for my head.”

Shamir takes Catherine’s free hand and says, “We’ll be fine,” Catherine looks at her and sees the loving smile that always brought her comfort, “We have all three houses with us and the captain's personal mercenary group with us. If anything, we just call them in early.” Catherine nods and smiles before quickly kissing Shamir and returning to the Blue Lions while Shamir returns to the Black Eagles. 

“So, uh…” asks a blushing Sylvain after watching the brief moment of affection between the knights, “How long hav-.”

“Save it for after the battle,” interrupts Catherine before addressing the rest of the blushing Lions, “If any of you have any questions, ask them now, and no, I won’t answer any about my relationship.” After getting no questions, she says, “Very well,” and nods at Byleth. 

Byleth holds her fist up in the air, and says, “Alright, let’s move in!” while thrusting her outstretched hand forward, leading the students and knights into the dense fog waiting for them. 

As they enter the fog, all sense of direction is lost. Every step is made cautiously as they try to scan the obscuring mist, with little success. Bernadetta clung tightly to Hubert’s sleeve, while Hubert himself had a spell already waiting to be unleashed from his free hand. Marianne also clung close to Dorte, the horse which she rode, laying as flat as possible on his back to avoid any possible stray projectiles that could erupt from the mist. 

As they moved, they kept their ears open, noting any sound that could signal an enemy approach. Claude even went so far as to close his eyes and focus his whole attention on listening to the sounds of the forest. He stops, and this brings everyone to a halt. He slowly drops to his knee and peaks his eyes open, ripping a few strands of grass and allowing the gentle breeze to blow them away. He then abruptly stands and brings his bow to bear, drawing an arrow and unleashing it into the mist, resulting in a loud cry of anguish from an unknown man, thus signaling the start of the battle proper. 

\--------------

Lonato heard the unmistakable cry of one of his soldiers getting struck. He was impressed. ‘So they draw first blood. Might as well be their last.’ “Men, divide them. Don’t allow them a chance to regroup, and surround them all!” 

\--------------

The students bring their arms to bear as Lonato’s men charge forward, their enemies letting loose a war cry of unparalleled fury. The houses tried to stay together, but their enemies charged forward from all directions, forcing the students to divide into much smaller groups than intended. 

Dimitri, unfortunately, found himself alone in the mist as the battle erupted around him. He couldn’t see any of his friends, and the clash of metal-on-metal echoed through the forest around him. As he scans, he spots a soldier charging forward at the last second, and swings his lance around to deflect the man’s sword. Before he could retaliate with his own blow, the man retreated into the mist. 

‘Goddess damn it!’ He had seen this tactic before. Faerghus tacticians have taken to calling it ‘guerilla warfare’, or to quickly attack and retreat before the enemy could react properly. The mist allowed Lonato’s soldiers to strike quickly and run just as fast. For all Dimitri knew, this one swordsman could very well be standing no more than a few feet in front of him, and he would be none the wiser. 

Rather than letting this man retain the advantage, Dimitri spurred his horse into a full gallop, and darted between the trees, striking any possible enemy he could. As he gallops, he spots what he hopes is another student. Unfortunately, this student is fighting a losing battle to a well armored axeman. Dimitri forces his horse to gallop faster, and he slings his lance behind him. Before the axeman could deliver a fatal blow, Dimitri swoops behind his classmate, grabs the back of their coat, and hoists them onto his horse, leaving the confused axeman to strike the dirt behind them. The classmate in question quickly grabs onto him, but the let's go almost as fast once they realize who it is. “Dimitri?!”

DImitri recognizes the voice instantly, “Edelgard?!” He risks looking behind himself, and finds the princess in question with a look of horrified relief. Edelgard looks ahead of him, and quickly throws her ax ahead, killing a lance wielding cavalier who almost struck Dimitri’s horse. 

“Dimitri,” she says as she draws her sword, “Focus on getting to one of the mages. I’ll watch your back.”

“Uh... got it,” he replies, somewhat shocked at what had just happened. 

\--------------

Marianne emerges from the fog near where the mercenaries were waiting, but she wasn’t alone. When the initial charge occurred, she heard someone cry in pain. In her panic, she happened upon a wounded Dedue, clutching a slowly growing splotch of red on his thigh. Rather than leave him, she brought him onto Dorte and rode their way out of the forest. She silently thanks the Goddess as the mercenaries help remove Dedue for her. She knew she had to return into the fog, but her fear left her planted in place. That is, until she heard a woman scream in pain. A woman she knew. 

As if led by the Goddess' hands, she spurred Dorte back into the forest, searching for her likely wounded friend. She dodged between trees and ducked under branches and stray arrows as she rode, praying that her friend hadn’t been taken already. 

She feels the color drain from her face when she sees the prone figure of Hilda in the forest, a small pool of blood under her. Marianne’s jumps off Dorte and sprints towards her, quickly casting the most powerful healing spell she had to try and save her friend. Unbeknownst to her, an enemy soldier sprinted up beside her, and tackled her to the ground, pinning her on her back. He brings his sword high above his head, ready to drive it into her heart. Marianne’s eyes widened with fear, knowing full well that death awaited her, but she didn’t struggle. ‘If this is where I die, I might as well.’ 

Before the soldier could bring his sword down, an ax buried itself into his chest, knocking him off Marianne. She scurries back, her eyes never leaving the dying form of the soldier, until she bumps into someone else. She quickly turns around to find Hilda, alive, but still wounded as she clutched the half sealed gash that ran across the side of their stomach. Marianne, on instinct, casts another spell to finish healing the wound. 

“Thanks, Mari,” praises Hilda as her wound closes, “I thought I was done for.”

“It- it’s nothing,” stutters Marianne, hiding her face from Hilda. 

“Mind if I watch your back while we search for the others?” Hilda asks, nodding towards Dorte as he trots their direction. 

“Uh…” Marianne just wanted to leave the forest, but Hilda was right. They were needed in the forest for the sake of their classmates, “Please…” she whispers. 

Hilda rips her ax out of the chest of the dead soldier as Marianne mounts Dorte. She extends her hand to Hilda and pulls her onto Dorte and then gallops back into the fog. 

\--------------

Meanwhile, Sylvain and Ingrid sprinted through the forest, chasing the mage that had accidentally sent a flare spell at them. Although Ingrid had arrived for battle on a horse, the horse had been felled by a barrage of arrows. Ingrid herself would’ve been struck by said arrows had Sylvain not pulled her off at the last second. 

The mage they are chasing tries fruitlessly to cast numerous illusion spells to throw them off, but the two students are relentless, and finally corner the poor mage. Sylvain thrusts his lance into the mage's heart while Ingrid thrusts hers into his gut, killing him instantly. As the mage slumps over, the fog seems to grow thinner, allowing them to see the shadows of approaching adversaries. 

“Looks like we have a fight to look forward to,” says Sylvain with a smirk. 

Ingrid returns the smirk as she readies her lance, “Then let's make it a fight to remember.” And so, the two Blue Lions stood their ground defiantly against the small squadron of rebels, letting their lances get coated in blood from tip to tip. 

\--------------

Lonato hisses in disgust as the fog that surrounded him began to dissipate. Though they still held some advantage, the students would now be able to react properly instead of being taken completely by surprise. If one more mage fell, it would be over for him and his soldiers. 

“They got one of the mages!” He shouts to his soldiers, “Defend the remaining with your lives!” 

“Not wise to shout so loudly, traitor!” He whips around and barely parries a strike to his neck. Once he backs off enough to size up his opponent, he realizes he’s facing the woman responsible for this mess. 

“Well, if it isn’t my son’s murderer,” Lonato says with scathing avarice, “Come to die?” 

“The only ones dying today are you and your men,” Catherine says calmly, hefting Thunderbrand to her shoulder as she takes an offensive stance. “You’d best ask the Goddess for forgiveness while you still can.” 

Lonato grits his teeth as he, too, readies himself for this battle, bringing his lance to bear, “Then let us fight!” 

\--------------

Dorothea found herself sprinting through the forest with Ferdinand by her side. They had heard what sounded like Petra getting hit again, and were sprinting in her direction while fighting off anyone unfortunate enough to get in their way. 

Suddenly, Dorothea feels herself getting pulled to the side as an arrow wizzes past her head. She and Ferdinand come to a stop behind a tree as arrows pelt the other side, with Ferdinand holding her close to his chest, causing Dorothea to blush slightly. 

“Shit,” he says as he grits his teeth, “They have us pinned. Don’t suppose you’ve got something to distract them?” 

“Maybe, but-,” before she can finish, an explosion of dark magic erupts from the other side of the tree. They cautiously peek around it to find the opposing archers dead, with Hubert smirking evilly behind their bodies and Bernadetta shaking silently behind him. 

“Well,” says Ferdinand as he grins sheepishly, “Guess that answers that.” 

They begin walking over to their classmates, but before they reach each other, Bernadetta suddenly shouts, “GET DOWN!” as she shoves Hubert down. A sudden fireball flies at them from behind Hubert. Ferdinand gets pulled out of its way by Dorothea, falling to the ground onto her while Bernadetta nimbly dodges the projectile. She then whips an arrow from her quiver, and quickly sends it flying with her bow. The arrow connects with it’s target, and the mist begins to fade away further, allowing them to see about five feet more than before. 

“I’m sorry,” Bernadetta whispers, though her classmates can still hear her. 

“Wait a minute,” Ferdinand says, confused as he props himself up to look at the young archer, “Did you apologize to the guy you just killed?”

“Uh…” Bernadetta fails to form an answer as embarrassment turns her face red. 

“She’s done it twice now,” confirms Hubert as he stands to his feet, “I just accept it because it’s better than freezing up like in the first battle.” 

Dorothea remembers back to the Red Canyon, and just how listless Bernadetta was after the battle. Her mind comes back to reality once she realizes just where Ferdinand's forearm and hand are resting as he propped himself up. “Ferdie?” She asks calmly. 

“Yes?” He asks while turning to look at her.

“If you want to survive this battle, I’d suggest getting off me.” 

He looks down and realizes what she meant. He quickly scrambled off her and accidentally head butts the same tree they had hid behind before. As he cradles his head in pain, Dorothea bursts into laughter while Hubert holds his head in his hands, hiding his smile while Bernadetta giggles slightly at Ferdinand's expense. While this happens they hear Casper calling from next to them. 

“Finally,” he calls, “We thought we’d never find you guys.” Next to him is Petra, who thankfully had suffered only what looked like a small bruise on her cheek. 

Once Ferdinand recovers, they begin sprinting through the forest, hoping to find their other friends. 

\--------------

Leonie, Lysithea, and Raphael stand around Lorenz as several men surround them, though the men's confidence wavered as the bodies of many more of their allies littered the ground around the three students. Although they had been wildly successful, it was not without consequence. Lorenz had taken a serious hit, and was sitting in the middle of the circle while tending to his wounded knee. Leonie has been punched hard in the face, her eye nearly swollen shut from the blow. Raphael had several shallow cuts across his arms and chest from an overly zealous soldier with a dagger. Lysithea had dropped to a knee as her mana supply was nearly exhausted, and her shin had been kicked in by one of the soldiers, almost breaking the bone and leaving a nasty bruise. 

Before any of them could react, two horses ran up side by side, dispersing the remaining men as they were chased by the riders. A few minutes later, the two returned, revealing Dimitri and Marianne, with Edelgard and Hilda, respectfully, riding with them. 

“Well  _ that’s _ a Hell of a sight to behold,” exclaims Leonie while pointing at Dimitri, “The crown prince and the imperial princess riding together.” 

“Oh, shut up…” Edelgard mutters under her breath while rolling her eyes, dismounting the horse with Dimitri in tow. 

“Who all’s hurt?” Asks Hilda as she dismounts Dorte while helping Marianne off. 

“Lorenz here got his knee fucked up,” says Leonie, “While Lysithea here is just tired with a bruised shin.” 

“Not that tired,” says Lysithea tiredly as she stands, leaning her weight on her good leg. 

Hilda nods at Marianne, and Marianne walks over to Lorenz to start healing his wound. 

“Many thanks, Marianne,” says Lorenz with a pained grimace, “I do believe I owe you after this.” 

“I… uh… thanks,” Marianne says quietly as she focuses on the wound. 

“Did anyone see any of our other classmates?” Dimitri asks worriedly. 

“Nope,” says Raphael while stretching his shoulders, “Once they divided us, we stuck together as much as possible. Looks like everyone’s been busy, though, since we can see each other again.” 

“I just hope no one is seriously hurt,” says Linhardt as he emerges from the fog, startling everyone, “It would be a hassle to heal them like Petra last month without Professor Manuela’s help.” 

“Well you seem to be in higher spirits than last month,” notes Edelgard. 

“It’s not so much the killing that unnerves me now,” he says, “It’s more the bloooooo…” he drifts off as he notices the bodies around their feet, as if to punctuate his point. 

As they stand there, they notice the fog is finally dissipating completely. “Alright,” exclaims Raphael, “Let’s finish this!” 

Once Lorenz is healed, the Deer, Edelgard, Linhardt, and Dimitri venture into the woods to hunt down the last of Lonato’s men, their vision now unhindered by the fog. 

\--------------

Byleth withdraws her sword from the heart of the last mage. Behind her, Ignatz is standing guard while Claude helps Mercedes tend to Annette who had twisted her ankle, and both are unsure if it is broken or just sprained. Byleth takes in her surroundings, noticing just how deep in the woods they are, and keeps her ears open for any possible signs of battle around them. 

“Ok,” says Mercedes after tying a knot on a makeshift splint for Annette, “That should keep it still until the battle’s over.” Healing a broken bone or sprain wasn’t difficult for Mercedes, but healing it in the middle of a battlefield would be ill advised as it takes more time than a simple flesh wound, both internal and external. 

“Thanks,” Annette replies as Claude helps her to her good foot. She braces against him as Byleth walks over to them. 

“The mercenaries should be moving in by now,” she says, “Once they reach us, we’ll hand you over to them.” Annette nods at Byleth while she turns to Claude, “Do you mind watching her unti-,” before she finishes, she hears a commotion not terribly far from them, and the slow drone of a guitar starts to fill her head. “Wait…”

“Um…” Sothis says in a worried tone, “I didn’t start that…”

Byleth turns her head in the direction of the commotion as the first lyrics begin playing.

“ **Here I stand, helpless and left for dead…”**

As the music picks up, Byleth sprints in the direction of an ensuing battle, knowing full well just what this song could herald. 

\--------------

Edelgard heard the music to, and Lysithea felt something within her react to an unknown force, causing her to suddenly panic. Edelgard enters a full sprint towards what the music is likely pointing to, leaving the others behind. They simply watch in confusion while Lysithea tries and fails to follow her due to her injured shin, only for Dimitri to heft her onto his horse. 

“Follow her?” He asks. 

“Yes,” she confirms. 

With that, he pushes his horse into a full gallop, catching up with Edelgard quickly and stumbling upon an open field. All three of them watch in mute shock and horror as Felix and Ashe stand together against a near rabid looking Lonato, with Catherine on the other side, clutching an open wound on her arm while Shamir stands over her defensively. 

\--------------

Lonato screams in rage as the last of the fog dissipates, and Catherine throws a smug grin at him. “Give up?” She asks. 

“Over my dead body,” he shouts, swinging his lance in a wide arch that connects with Thunderbrand, knocking Catherine off balance and sending her to the ground. He brings his lance up high, ready to thrust his weapons into her, but as he does, an arrow penetrates his arm, causing him to miss her chest, but strikes a deep gash into her arm as he hits the ground. Catherine howls with pain as Lonato withdraws his lance for the dirt, and he turns to his assailant while ripping the arrow out of his arm, sending blood flying in all directions. But then his eyes connect with the one person he didn’t want to see on this battlefield. 

“Leave her alone!” Ashe shouts at his adoptive father. If either of them were able to, they would’ve heard the early beginnings of the song that sent Byleth and Edelgard into a mute panic. 

“No,” Lonato whispers, his face the definition of horrified agony, “No, not you too.” 

With Lonato distracted, Catherine kicks herself away from the rampant lord. Shamir, who had just emerged from the trees, rushes to her side, grabbing a Vulnerary from her belt. She kneels beside Catherine and gives the potion to her, which she drinks greedily. The wound on her arm starts to heal, but the Vulnerary only stops the wound from bleeding profusely. She’d have to see Mercedes or one of the other faith students to get it healed fully. 

Lonato shouts with boiling rage, drawing the attention of the two women. “Why does the Archbishop have to take everything from me!” They watch as he charges Ashe, bringing his lance high as he prepares to strike him down. Ashe is paralyzed with fear, and doesn’t move when the lance comes down. 

\--------------

Ashe should’ve moved, he should’ve reacted, but when his adoptive father rushed to attack him, he felt his legs lock up and his vision narrow as Lonato made his advance. Even as the lance was brought down towards him, he just closed his eyes, as if ready to accept his fate. 

But before the lance could connect, the sudden ring of steel striking steel brought him back to his senses, and he felt Lonato plow into him, knocking him to the ground as he stumbled away behind him. Ashe looked up to find Felix, the person who had accused him of being a traitor, standing over him protectively. 

The swordsman closes his eyes, holding back visible sorrow as he says, “I can’t fight him alone. I know you don’t want to do this, but I  _ need  _ your help, Ashe.” He reaches his hand towards Ashe, which he takes cautiously as he is pulled up by Felix. Ashe turns around to face Lonato, who looked like he had become rabid with anger. They both fail to notice Dimitri, Edelgard, and Lysithea arriving behind them. 

\--------------

**“Close your eyes, so many days gone by…”**

Byleth emerges into the field behind Catherine and Shamir, while Mercedes, gasping for breath from having to keep up with Byleth, stumbles in behind her. Byleth’s eyes are filled with shock as she watches Lonato circle around Ashe and Felix, sizing the two boys up. Felix’s steps are in time with the music in Byleth’s head, while Ashe only seems to be following along with Felix. 

As Byleth tries to rush into the field, Shamir says, “Stop.” She grabs the professors arm and pulls her back. “Let them fight. You’ll only get one of them killed if you rush out there.” 

Byleth turns back to protest, but the lyrics pick up and she hears the ringing of steel as Felix rushes Lonato in time with the music. 

**“I believe in you, I can show you…”**

\--------------

Edelgard was speechless. Felix fought perfectly in time with the music in her head, while Ashe seemed to only try and keep up. Dimitri, after he dismounted his horse, tried to run into the battle, but both Edelgard and Lysithea had grabbed his cape and pulled him back before he rushed out. 

“Don’t just rush out there,” Edelgard says, “You’ll only get yourself or your friends hurt.” 

“Yes,” Lysithea agrees, “Besides, we need to make sure none of Lonato’s men interfere with this.”

Dimitri lets out a reluctant sigh before nodding at the two women, and all three turn their backs to face away from the battle, focusing on the forest before them and waiting for any possible ambush that could happen. 

\--------------

**“Say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight…”**

Although Felix couldn’t hear the song that played for Byleth and Edelgard, he could feel something in the air. He felt his crest ignite as his sword clashed with Lonato’s lance, allowing him to follow a rhythm that reverberated through his core. 

Lonato, having lost all his patients, withdraws slightly as the unheard chorus ends. 

He begins speaking in a mocking tone, “Is that truly your best, Fraldarius?” 

“Sharp tongue,” Felix responds calmly, “If only your lance was as sharp, perhaps this would be a fair fight.”

Lonato snarls as he gives his next rebuttal, “Perhaps if you put your sword where your mouth is, you won’t end up like that useless brother of yours.” Lonato grins wickedly as Felix’s composure deteriorates, “What was his name, ‘Glenn’? That’s it, the one who failed to save the king.” 

Felix’ face morphs into one of pure disgust, “Shut up…” he whispers, but Lonato continues. 

“I remember now,” he says between wicked teeth, “He traveled to Duscur with the king, and was ambushed by those heathens. He let himself get burned as the king fell. Truly a tragedy-,” He brings his lance to bear as Felix lets out an animalistic scream of rage, blocking a wild strike for the swordsman. Felix’s crest was extinguished, and he no longer moved to the rhythm of the music. But now Ashe, realizing how un-composed Felix has become, draws his dagger from his belt, and rushes in to help Felix in his battle. 

If either of them were listening to the music, the second chorus has begun. 

\--------------

Dimitri heard Lonato’s words, and they shook his core, driving him into a blood-lust filled rage as the two women with him held him back. His strength was immense, dragging Edelgard and Lysithea as their heals dug trenches into the ground. Were it not for the circumstances, it would almost look comical. 

“Dimitri!” Lysithea shouts, “Stop! You’ll only get someone hurt like this!”

“The only one getting hurt is him!” He shouts back, shrugging Lysithea off his shoulder and letting her fall to the ground. Now less hindered, he reaches his now free arm to remove Edelgard, but she does something unexpected. 

She lets go and places herself between him and the ensuing battle, and much to his and even Lysithea’s shock, embraces the young prince. 

Dimitri stops in his tracks as Edelgard holds him tighter, saying, “Don’t get yourself killed. It’s not worth it.” Even though he’s stopped, Edelgard refuses to let go, leaving Dimitri in a shocked stupor for several seconds before hesitantly embracing her back, allowing his bloodlust to subside. 

Lysithea, reeling from the sight before her, says, “What the Hell just happened?” 

\--------------

Byleth watched as this took place before her, and silently cheered in her head for Edelgard finally throwing her reluctance away and facing one of her worst fears head on. ‘Let’s keep this going, kid,’ she thinks as she returns her attention back to Catherine, who had Mercedes tending to her arm. Shamir is watching the duel unfold, waiting for an opportunity to unleash an arrow at Lonato when his back is turned, but his awareness allows him to keep her in his sight, and keeps Felix or Ashe between him and her at all times. 

“Shit,” she says, “He’s too good. I can’t get a clear shot at him.”

“Shamir,” Byleth says, drawing her attention, “As you said, let them fight. I have faith in them both.”

“But...” Catherine says, “But Ashe… he’s the guy's adopted son. How do you know he’l-”

“I just know,” Byleth confirms grimly, remembering back to the second timeline when Ashe took Lonato’s life the first time. 

“There,” says Mercedes, her voice unsteady due to the battle, “Your arm’s good.” She turns her attention back immediately to the fight, as Byleth notes the beginning of the final Chorus of the song begins. 

\--------------

**“Say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight…”**

Lonato has had enough. This battle would end with him victorious, and these two dead, regardless if one of them was his adopted son. Ashe could never replace Christophe, no matter how much he tried. 

To punctuate this, he slams his fist hard into Ashe’s chest and sends him sprawling, eliciting a shriek of fright from someone nearby, but his attention turns to the annoying swordsman, and he delivers a solid hit that sends Felix's sword flying away. He reacted quickly, drawing a dagger from his waist, but Lonato delivered a sudden strike with the pole of his lance to his head, sending him to the ground in a daze.

**“Hold on!”**

As the song begins to draw to a close, Lonato raises his lance to end Felix’s life. But just as the last lyric is played, Lonato feels a searing pain erupt through his back, through his heart, and out his chest as Fleix’s sword is run through him. Lonato drops his lance as he staggers forward, barely catching himself as he turns, his strength already fading. He sees Ashe, his adopted son, standing behind him, his eyes filled with sorrow for what he had just done to save his friend. 

Lonato shakes his head and mouths “no” before falling to his back, the pain of the sword fading as his world fades to black. 

**“Goodbye…”**

\--------------

Byleth listens to the piano of the song’s end as Lonato lands on his back, unmoving as he silently expires. Catherine and Shamir have equal faces of shock as they stand next to each other, while Mercedes has tears rolling down her cheeks as she watches Ashe fall to his knees while staring at his adoptive father’s corpse. Byleth sees Edelgard and Dimitri, who by now have separated and are staring at the battle’s aftermath, wearing equal faces of sorrow as well, while Lysithea struggles to get to her feet due to her injured shin, her face mixed with pain and sorrow for the young archer. 

Byleth then sees Felix get himself up, and he walks over to where Ashe was, before kneeling next to him and placing his hand on his shoulder. 

\--------------

Silence. That was all Ashe could hear was silence. He couldn’t tear his eyes for the corps of his adoptive father, the man who gave him a chance at an honest life, the man who sent him to the academy to become the knight he dreamt of becoming, the man he had to kill to save his friend. 

He barely reacted to a hand resting on his shoulder, and he turned his head to find Felix kneeling next to him. Ashe leaned forward and embraced the swordsman, allowing his overwhelming guilt, sorrow, and pain to take him, his sobs and cries being the only thing heard on that field as their classmates and the mercenaries entered to find the aftermath of this wretched battle. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, the first not fun chapter has emerged. Normally I'd have something witty to say here (or at least try to be witty), but for this chapter, it doesn't feel appropriate. Next week, though, do expect something a little more uplifting, and do let me know how I did with this chapter. See y'all next week.  
> Fun fact: According to the Google Docs. version of this story, I have officially reached 100 pages about halfway through this chapter. Yay.


	11. Castle of Glass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hardly anything else I need to be..." Linkin Park

Felix stood near the edge of the camp that had been set up. Due to how late in the day it was, Byleth decided that marching to the monastery now would be too dangerous for the students, and as everyone was injured in some way, whether minor or major, camping would allow them all to recover physically before mounting their horses and returning. A couple of mercenaries were selected by Byleth and sent ahead to deliver the initial report of the battle, and to prepare for their return. 

Felix rested against a tree and scanned the damned forest. The bodies of the dead had been gathered in the central field where his duel with Lonato took place and several of the mercenaries, alongside Byleth, were busy burning the remains to avoid any unwanted attention from late night scavengers. He could just make out the scent of burning flesh and bone from here, and the smell almost triggered something within him. A buried memory that he would rather not relive. 

Shaking his head to rid himself of those thoughts, he turns back into the camp and walks toward the more pleasant smell of burning wood, his classmates gathered around the calming fires as the day's events plagued their minds. He couldn’t hear their conversations, but he imagined that they were about Lonato’s death. He scans the area and spots Ashe huddled near a tent, a woolen blanket covering his shoulders and arms as he stared listlessly into the fires before him. Felix thought that Mercedes would’ve stuck by him after the battle, but he also remembers the extent of the injuries among the other students. 

Building his resolve, he approaches Ashe, who quietly looks up at the swordsman, his eyes red and raw form the tears he had shed. 

They stare at each other for a few seconds before Felix asks, “Mind if I sit here?” Ashe quietly nods before returning his gaze to the fire, while Felix calmly sits down next to the young boy. 

They sit in silence for several minutes before Felix finally says, “I’m sorry.” Ashe turns his head to look at Felix confused, and their classmates also turn to look at Felix as he continues, “I… I should’ve never called you or your siblings traitors. I… can’t help but feel that… if I had chosen my words differently, you wouldn’t have had to…,” Felix fails to finish his sentence, but the message is clear to Ashe. 

Ashe bites his lip and then says with a hoarse voice, “You know, if you hadn’t stepped in when you did earlier, I would be among the dead.” Felix looks up and looks Ashe in the eyes as he continues, “If anything, I should be saying thank you, but… at this point, after everything that’s happened with you and me these last two weeks, let’s just say we’re even. Alright?”

Felix dares to let a faint grin on his face as he and Ashe grasp each other’s hands and shake their agreement. “Alright,” Felix replies. At this time Mercedes returns from tending to several injuries and, realizing he’s not needed, Felix bids Ashe goodnight and stands to confront his friend near the fire, knowing full well that they witnessed this moment between them. 

Before he reaches them, Annette limps between him and his friends, her eyes glaring sharply into his, her arms crossed. Felix finds himself staring awkwardly back and tries to form a sentence, “Ah… Annette, I-,”

“Stop,” she says firmly but calmly as her eyes soften, “You have done nothing to hurt me, and you’ve already apologized to the one you did hurt. If anything,” she points a finger into his chest to punctuate her next sentence, “All you own me, is a sparring match.”

“A… a what?” Fleix asks confused, unsure of why the young mage would want to spare, let alone against him. She doesn’t answer, and simply leaves him in a stupor as his friends approach him. 

Sylvain has his hands resting in his pockets, and wears a neutral expression as he sizes up Felix. Ingrid is the same, though she simply has her arms crossed. Dimitri, however, has a knowing grin on his face, his arms also crossed, and says, “You know we’re going to hold you to her request.” 

Felix rolls his eyes and replies with an equally knowing grin, “Says the prince who was caught embracing the imperial princess.”

This earns a snort from Sylvain as his serious expression fails, turning away as Ingrid also fails to hold in a laugh. Dimitri just bows his head in defeat and Felix notices his cheeks flush red as embarrassment fills him. After Sylvain collects himself, he approaches Felix and pats his back, leading him to the fire pit while saying, “Glad to have you back, Felix.” 

\--------------

Edelgard watched everyone from a distance as they huddled around the fires for warmth. She had been sitting at one with Petra, Casper, and Lysithea, but decided to stretch her legs a little and walk around the camp to clear a few thoughts that invaded her mind. Specifically, the fact she spent most of the battle with Dimitri. For some reason, this bugged her to no end. Yes, they may have been a terrifying force to reckon with while on his horse, but what really drove her nuts was what she did while watching the duel between Felix, Ashe and Lonato. 

‘Did I really hug him like that?’ 

She had originally wanted to just stand between him and the duel, and would’ve gladly taken a hit if it meant bringing him back to his senses. Instead, something buried very, very deep within her sparked, and she found herself embracing Dimitri. She didn’t know why she did it, nor could she explain why she felt so comfortable as to allow it to last for as long as it did, but it felt, for the lack of a better term, right. This drove her insane. What could’ve possibly sparked within her to want to embrace him so tightly like that? 

As if summoned by her thoughts, she sees the prince in question approach her, asking, “Mind if we talk for a bit?” 

Edelgard nods at him and says, “Sure. What’s on your mind?” 

Dimitri takes a deep breath before saying, “I just wanted to say thank you for stopping me back there.” 

Edelgard tilts her head at this while giving Dimitri an incredulous look, “Thank me?” 

“If you didn’t stop me like that,” Dimitri says while looking away slightly, “I doubt Lonato would’ve been the only one hurt.” 

“Felix and Ashe?” She guesses.

“More than them…” he whispers back, now looking away fully in shame. 

Edelgard bites her lip as she thinks of a reply and says, “If I’m honest, I really don’t know what came over me.” Dimitri looks at her as she continues, “I wanted to just place myself between you and them, but for some reason, I felt like… embracing you would’ve worked better.” She forces herself to say the word as if it were scandalous to say it out loud, and she is somewhat justified. The rumors that have already spread (thanks Lysithea) were gaining her and Dimitri some very suggestive looks from their friends, and Edelgard doubts she will hear the end of it from Dorothea when they march back to the monastery. She also dared not think about what Solon or Thales would say if they found out. 

Dimitri smiles at her honesty, and says, “Again, thank you.” Edelgard nods and returns the smile before Dimitri shifts uncomfortably before asking, “Um… if you don’t mind, I… Uh,” he takes a deep breath and asks, “Would you like to… share tea sometime?” Dimitri is flushed with embarrassment while Edelgard recoils slightly with mute shock at Dimitri’s request. ‘Is he trying to make these rumors permanent?!’ 

But rather than deny him, refuse him, or even say ‘maybe’, Edelgard finds herself saying something she didn’t expect to say, “Actually, I think I would enjoy that.” 

“R- really?” Dimitri asks, shocked at Edelgard’s response. 

“Positive.” Edelgard feels her reservations wash away with that final statement. They simply stand and smile at each other, almost lost in their eyes. 

_ It’s me! _

__ Edelgard suddenly turns her head to look behind herself, confusion written on her face. ‘What in the…’

“Is something wrong?” Dimitri asks, concerned.

“I swear I just heard something.” Edelgard is looking around behind herself, but only finds tents and equipment belonging to the mercenaries. 

_ It’s me, ___! _

__ Edelgard shakes her head, turns back to Dimitri and says, “Sorry, I’m probably hearing things. We should get some rest before tomorrow dawns.” 

_ Ugh! _

__ “Uh… you’re right. We should.” Dimitri didn’t seem convinced at Edelgard’s words, but he didn't protest. They bid each other goodnight and part ways, Edelgard swearing silently that something called out to her that night. 

\--------------

“I want to check on my brother and sister,” Ashe requested from Byleth the next morning. The campsite had already been cleared, and everyone was mounting their horses to march back to the monastery. 

Byleth wore a contemplative frown as she weighed her options. She knew she needed to get back to the monastery to file her final report on the battle, but she also knew that Ashe wanted to ensure his siblings were safe and taken care of before leaving Lonato’s territory. 

Making up her mind, she calls Catherine and Shamir over to tell them her decision, “I’m going with Ashe. Catherine, can you let Seteth know he and I won’t be back until later?” 

“Uh…” Catherine seems to have lost a fair amount of confidence since the battle’s end, but she affirms, “Sure. I’ll let them know.” 

“Thank you. Also deliver this,” Byleth hands Catherine a suspicious looking letter with the seal of the Western Church emblazoned on it. “I found it on Lonato’s body before we burned it. Deliver it to the Archbishop as soon as you arrive.” Catherine nods when Mercedes approaches Byleth, pointing towards Ashe. 

“I’m coming with him, too.” She declares. 

“Mercedes,” says Byleth, “You need to return t-,”

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Professor,” responds Mercedes firmly. Byleth rolls her eyes in defeat before turning to Ashe. 

“Well, lead the way,” she says. 

After bidding farewell to the rest of the convoy, Mercedes, Ashe, and Byleth venture past the forest and towards Castle Gaspard. The march is uneventful, though several patrolling guards recognize Ashe and assure him that they offered no support for Lonato’s rebellion as they swear their loyalty to the kingdom. This eases Ashe’s concern somewhat, though his breath hitches when his eyes land on Castle Gaspard. It looks undamaged and well kept, servants tending to their duties around the grounds. One of them notices the trio and recognizes Ashe as he approaches. 

The maid runs over to his horse as he dismounts, saying, “Lord Ashe, you’ve returned.” 

He wastes no time in asking after dismounting his horse, “Where’s Richard and Lily?” 

“Oh,” says the Maid with a reassuring tone, “They’re just fine. They’re inside with Serval for another lesson today. Come along, you all.” The maid ushers the trio inside, following closely as Byleth and Mercedes drink in the elaborate decorations adorning the castle. They enter an extensive library where they find three others; a butler with a book open in his hands, and two children, a young boy about age 14 and a young girl about age 12, with the same hair and eye color as Ashe. The two children look up from their own books and immediately recognize their older brother. 

“Ashe!” They both exclaim, jumping from their seats and nearly tackling their brother down, embracing him tightly. The butler looks up from his own book and smiles gently at the display, though he suspects the true reason for Ashe’s visit. He walks to the two women behind Ashe and greets them. 

“Good morning,” he says while extending his hand, “My name is Serval, I am the chief butler of Lonato’s estate. Who do I owe the pleasure of bringing Ashe home?” 

“I am Professor Byleth of Garreg Mach Officers Academy, and this is Mercedes von Martritz, one of Ashe’s classmates.” Byleth gingerly takes the butler’s hand and shakes firmly. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” says Mercedes and she gently takes Serval’s hand and shakes a little more calmly than Byleth. 

“Well, it certainly is a pleasure to meet you both, as well,” Serval says with a bright smile, but his smile fades quickly. “I suspect the reason for your visit has to do with Lord Lonato, yes?” He wears a grim expression as he looks expectantly at Byleth. 

“Unfortunately yes,” she confirms with an equally grim expression, “Lonato has been slain in battle against the Church.” 

This draws the attention of Ashe’s siblings, who both look shocked at Byleth before Ashe’s brother, Richard, asks “Is it true?” 

Ashe grimly nods as tears fill his sister, Lily’s, eyes. “No…” she whispers. 

Byleth is about to speak, but Servil says, “We don’t need to know the… gruesome details of the battle. I suspected this would be his fate.” He takes a deep breath before ushering everyone out of the library and towards Lonato’s private office. Byleth and Mercedes take in the rather spartan decoration compared to the rest of the castle; a small desk, a simple chair, and no shelves or other such decoration on the walls besides a small fireplace. 

“Lonato never liked being distracted by extravagance,” says Richard with a depressed sigh, “He only decorated the rest of the castle for his guests.” 

Serval reaches into a drawer of the desk and pulls out a small, unsealed envelope. “Lord Lonato wished to write his will before he embarked on his rebellion. I am unsure if he ever finished it.” He hands the envelope to Ashe, who holds it tightly like his life depended on it. 

“I doubt the Church will honor his will,” confirms Ashe grimly, “I’ll personally deliver this to them and see if I can’t convince them to.” 

While Ashe and Serval discuss this, Byleth and Mercedes stand off to the side and simply watch. However, Lily’s attention is drawn to Mercedes and she calmly approaches her, a suspicious scowl plastered on her face. She stands in front of her and looks up to her eyes. 

Mercedes, unsure of what she could’ve done to irritate the young girl, asks “Is something wrong?”

Lily then says in an accusatory tone, “Are you Ashe’s girlfriend?” Her eyes grow narrow as Mercedes’ face quickly flushes red and her composure fails. 

“A- du- b… WHAT?!” Mercedes stammer out while the little girl leans closer. Byleth couldn’t restrain her laughter at the display as Mercedes tries to defend herself, “It… I mean…. it- it’s not… I…,” Her stammering draws everyone’s attention as she tries to find a place to hide, only to bury her face in her hands as she thinks to herself, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come after all…’ 

\--------------

Casper sat awkwardly on his horse as he rode next to Petra. He occasionally tosses glances at her out of the side of his eye, but he never looked directly at her. Twice now, she had taken a hit for him, and twice now, she had gotten hurt because of it. It didn’t sit right with him. He knows she is the princess of Brigid, so he felt unworthy of being saved by her. His father would often boast about how he slayed the crown prince of Brigid, Petra’s father, and describe in great detail just how he did it. It’s part of the reason why he felt so intimidated by him in the first place, and is the entire reason he felt so awkward around Petra. 

Deciding he needed to talk to someone, he scans the convoy and his eyes land on the one person who would probably know how to deal with this best, Dedue. His nation, Duscur, was annihilated by the Kingdom and Casper had heard he lost his family during the Tragedy. And yet, here he is, riding alongside Dimitri and his friends silently. Why would he want to stand by the prince even though the kingdom took everything away from him?

Building his resolve, he turns his horse and approaches the beastly man. Dedue turns his head and acknowledges Casper, asking, “Do you have business with Dimitri?” 

Casper, without missing a beat, says, “Actually, I want to talk with you.” Dedue is surprised by this, but nods his confirmation as they separate from the convoy to speak in private. 

“What do you wish to discuss?” Dedue asks in a monotone voice. 

“It’s… complicated so… hear me out,” Casper takes a deep breath before he speaks at a rather quick pace, “So, last month and this month, Petra took two different hits meant for me, and got hurt both times because of it. She doesn’t seem to mind, but I just feel that I don’t deserve it. See,” he quickly darts his head around to make sure no one could hear, and leans towards Dedue and continues speaking in a low tone, “My father killed her father, and I don’t know if she knows, or if she’s doing this to spite him, or if she genuinely cares for me, or it’s just her nature, or…”

“You’re overthinking it,” says Dedue calmly. 

Casper, after snapping out of his rant, simply asks, “What?”

Dedue takes a breath and says, “When Duscur was invaded, my village tried to evacuate north. Unfortunately, a division of the Kingdom’s soldiers intercepted us, killing most of us, among them my family. I don’t know how I survived, but they lined up the rest of the survivors, and prepared to execute us by way of beheading. I was supposed to be first. Before the ax was brought down, Dimitri had arrived, and placed himself between the ax and me, ordering the soldiers to stand down and release us. Ever since then, I swore my life to Dimitri.” 

“But,” says Casper, “You have to have some kind of resentment. I mean, he’s the crown prince of the kingdom that destroyed your home.” 

“But  _ he  _ isn’t the one that destroyed it.” Casper is silent as he contemplates Dedue’s words, a sudden sense of clarity written on his face. Dedue continues speaking, “While you cannot speak for your father nor atone for his sins, the least you can do is prove yourself a better man than he is.” 

Casper realizes what Dedue means. ‘I can’t let my father’s actions dictate who I am.’ “Thank you,” he says, “That actually helps a lot.” 

“I should also thank you,” Dedue replies, “It’s not often I talk about my past with anyone besides Dimitri. It… should help me when I-,” he stops and looks away, and Casper could just catch the faint hit of a blush on his cheeks. 

“If it helps any,” Caspers says with a sly grin, “I’m not the kind of person to gossip or pry into other people’s lives without good reason. I won’t ask.” 

“Thank you,” Dedue says after he composed himself. They separate and rejoin the convoy, with Casper resolving to speak with Petra over tea at the monastery. 

\--------------

Edelgard is minding her own business on the fringe of the convoy when Sothis suddenly says, “Edie, we need to talk.” 

Edelgard wears a sour expression as she pulls discreetly away from the convoy and says with an irritated growl, “Only Dorothea can call me ‘Edie’.” 

“Sorry,” Sothis says with audible regret, “But it’s just easier to say than your full name.” 

Edelgard just sighs and asks, “What do you need?” 

“During the battle,” Sothis starts, “A song started playing, remember?”

Edelgard nods as the lyrics repeat in her head, “Yeah, I remember. I think it’s ‘Devil’s Dance’ or something like that?” 

“‘Dance with the Devil’ specifically,” Sothis corrects, “But yes, you are correct. What if I told you I didn’t start that song.” 

Edelgard narrows her eyes as she looks up towards where Sothis’ presence floated, “You mean it started on it’s own?” 

“Yes,” Sothis floats closer to Edelgard, “The reason I didn’t play anything during the battle is because of the fog and how you fought at the canyon. I was worried you would hurt one of your classmates by accident if I started anything.” 

“And yet a song started playing anyway,” Edelgard replies, “But it started after the fog cleared. The only one it seemed to affect was Felix.” 

“But…” Sothis goes silent as she weighs her theories, “Hmmmmm. It affected Felix when he dueled against Lonato, but he has no real connection to me.” 

“He has a Crest,” Edelgard points out, “That could explain why he was affected.” 

“Your right!” Sothis exclaims, “When he fought, I saw his crest ignite. When Lonato started throwing that slander at him, Felix’s crest extinguished and he couldn’t follow the rhythm.”

“But one thing still bugs me about this,” Edelgard counters, “How did the song start?” 

“If I remember the song correctly, it sounds like a bad break up between two lovers. One of them betrayed the other I think and they have one last ‘dance with the devil’ so to speak before separating.” 

“But Felix had no personal interest in Lonato,” Edelgard sighs and says, “The only one who had any connection among us is…” her eyes widen when she realizes something, “Ashe.” 

“But he doesn’t have a crest,” Sothis points out, “How could he have triggered the song?” 

“Well, I have a theory,” Edelgard starts, “Perhaps this ‘Rhythm magic’ of yours might tie together the music and the emotions expressed while the music is playing.” 

“Keep going,” Sothis urges. 

“Consider this; during the battle at the Red Canyon, when you started that song, Byleth and I became, for the lack of a better word, monsters. There was nothing that could stop us and everyone we killed was dismembered in some way.” 

“Yeah,” Sothis says as she catches on to Edelgard’s theory, “I chose ‘This is Gonna Hurt’ because it was a violent sounding song with some rather intense lyrics.”

“And you said ‘Dance with the Devil’ is a song of betrayal,” Edelgard grins as her theory comes together, “Ashe was able to trigger the song because he felt completely betrayed by Lonato, or perhaps Lonato triggered the song by being betrayed by Ashe, and Felix was affected because his crest ignited once he started fighting Lonato. I’m more than willing to bet that everyone who bears a crest can be affected by this magic and anyone can trigger it if their emotions are strong enough.” 

“Holy sh-,” Sothis catches herself, “Sorry, but, you may have nailed it on the head. Ha! And here I thought we’d have to wait for Byleth to help us.” 

“For a Goddess,” Edelgard teases, “You don’t seem to know much.” 

“I believe you mortals call it ‘amnesia’,” Sothis retorts with an equally mocking tone, “Once again, blame that disguised bastard in the library.” 

Edelgard shakes her head as she returns to the convoy, her mood lifted from the conversation.

\--------------

Byleth, Mercedes, and Ashe are mounting their horses just outside Castle Gaspard as they prepare to return to the monastery, while Serval, Richard, and Lily stood by the door.. 

“Please write to us as soon as you can, brother,” calls Richard. 

“I will,” replies Ashe, a grin adorning his face for the first time in several weeks. 

“You better not break his heart, woman!” Lily angrily shouts at Mercedes, “I’ll kill you if you do!” 

Mercedes just nervously waves while an embarrassed blush fills her face. “Uh… yeah….” 

Byleth nods at Serval and gets a nod back before saying, “I’ll be sure to advocate for you all once we get back.” 

“Just know this,” Serval says, “If things go well, you and miss Mercedes are welcome here anytime.” 

“Many thanks,” Byleth says. She then turns to her students and says, “Come on. Best not keep the Archbishop waiting for us.” 

\--------------

After a lengthy ride, Byleth, Mercedes, and Ashe arrive at the monastery as the sun starts to set, with Jeralt waiting for them at the gate. 

“I was worried for a little bit there,” he says as they dismount their horses, “Thought you wouldn’t make it till tomorrow.” 

“We didn’t stay long,” Byleth says as she embraces her father. She lets go and her expression drops as she asks, “How is everyone?” 

“We lost two more knights yesterday,” he says grimly, “Their injuries were too great for the mages to handle. Your students will be fine, though.” 

Byleth closes her eyes and says, “I see.” 

Jeralt continues, “Rhea wants to speak with you directly as well, and those two,” as he points to Mercedes and Ashe. 

They all silently nod at Jeralt and they follow him to Rhea’s Audience chamber, where they find Catherine, Shamir and Seteth waiting alongside the Archbishop. 

“It certainly took you long enough,” Catherine says quietly. Shamir throws her a sharp glare, and Catherine shys away from her. 

“I do hope your delay was with good reason, Professor,” Rhea says calmly, although her eyes showed visible irritation. 

Ashe steps forward and says, “The delay is my fault. I just wanted to ensure my brother and sister were safe before arriving here.” He then pulls the envelope containing Lonato’s will from his pocket, “I also received this from one of the butlers at Castle Gaspard. They stated it is Lonato’s will.” 

Seteth grabs the envelope and hands it to Rhea, who then proceeds to open and read it aloud, “To whom it may concern. In the event of my death, should it be by the hands of the Church, mercenaries, or bandits, my estate, land, and title will be inherited by…” Rhea looks closer at the paper as disbelief forms in her eyes. She flips the paper over to look at it black back before reading the rest of the will on the front, “Will be inherited by my adopted son, Ashe, upon his graduation from the officers academy. Until then…” Rhea pauses and says, “The will ends there.” 

Ashe is visibly shaking as tears roll down his cheeks. Catherine and Shamir look sorrowfully at him while Seteth, Jeralt, and Byleth remain stoic. Mercedes walks up to Ashe and embraces him from behind, resting her head on his. 

Rhea sits silently for several minutes until she speaks, “Originally, for his crimes against the Church, we had planned to seize all of Lonato’s assets and territory, but…” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before looking at Ashe, “I've heard the report from the battle. While we will station several knights in the Gaspard region for now, we won’t deny the contents of his will. Do you accept these terms?” 

“Yes, Archbishop.” Ashe says, standing slightly straighter. 

“If that is all, you and Mercedes may take your leave,” Rhea says. Ashe and Mercedes bow to the Archbishop before turning and leaving. When they close the door behind themselves, Rhea turns to Byleth and says, “As for you, Professor, we need to discuss the letter you found on Lonato.” 

The air suddenly chills as Seteth explains the contents, “I’ll keep the details brief. According to the letter, the Western Church intends to assassinate the Archbishop during the Rite of Rebirth. As we all know, the Rite is one of the most sacred ceremonies performed annually in the Church. While we cannot afford to cancel the ceremony, we are also at a disadvantage as the knights ranks were seriously damaged by the rebellion. Professor, while I understand your students need time to recover, we may need them to fill in for the knights in protecting the Archbishop.” 

Byleth simply nods and says, “I understand completely. The Rite of Rebirth is at the end of the month, yes?” 

“That’s right,” Catherine confirms. 

“Then the students will have plenty of time to recover by then. I’ll let them know first thing in the morning,” Byleth confirms.

“Very well,” Seteth says, “I’ll inform Hanneman and Manuela of this as well. Tomorrow is a free day for the students to recover, but I want your report on the battle by sundown tomorrow evening. If there is nothing else urgent you need to add, you may take your leave.” 

“Thank you, and goodnight.” With that, Byleth leaves the audience chamber, and heads straight for her room.

Once there, she calls out quietly, “Sothis, you in here?” 

“Yep,” the spectral Goddess responds, “I’m here.” 

“You, me, Edelgard, throne space, now.” Byleth demands impatiently. 

“Give me a second,” Sothis says, and a few seconds later, Byleth finds herself getting pulled inward until she is standing in the ethereal throne room. 

Behind her, she hears, “Really Sothis?! No warning?!” Byleth turns and finds Edelgard getting up off the ground, much the same way as Byleth did when she got pulled in while sitting. 

“Ah…” Sothis says with visible regret, scratching the back of her head awkwardly, “I… need to get better at that.” Edelgard huffs an irritated growl at the Goddess.

“Never mind that,” Byleth says to defuse the situation, “Were you able to come up with a theory about why that song started playing?”

“As a matter of fact, we did,” Edelgard says with a triumphant grin, much to Byleth’s surprise. Sothis and Edelgard then proceed to give their theory and reasoning about the ‘rhythm magic’ they had come up with during the march while Byleth takes in everything they say. 

After contemplating this for several minutes, she then says, “If this theory is correct, then we might be able to test this during some of the extracurricular missions coming up. At least, the ‘crest bearers being affected’ portions of it. Although, if I know some of my students at all, they’ll probably catch on rather quickly.”

“Hence why I say we shouldn’t test this until the next big mission,” Sothis declares, “And the next big mission is…” Sothis suddenly deflates as she realizes, “Defending… the... Arch...bishop.” She hangs her head limply as disappointment washes over her. 

“Not quite,” Edelgard says, “Remember what I said about a red herring?” 

“That’s not what I mean,” Sothis starts to clarify, “It’s the Rite of Rebirth itself I’m worried about. Could you imagine the uproar if people with crests started acting out while I played some random song during  _ any  _ sort of conflict, let alone the one expected in the tomb? Not to mention, Rhea and Seteth,  _ especially _ Seteth, will likely be paranoid as Hell during the whole thing anyway. If even one thing is slightly out of line, the whole monastery will cave in on itself in the chaos.”

“But then there’s the other half of the theory,” Byleth adds, “We simply don’t know just what everyone will be feeling during the event, nor do we know how their emotions will trigger the reaction. I hate to say this, but we won’t have the luxury this month to test this theory yet.”

“*Sigh* Just as well,” Sothis rests against the armrest of her throne, contemplating just how the month will go before asking Byleth, “Do you want to discuss anything else?” 

“Yes, one more thing,” Byleth begins, “When Felix was dueling against Lonato, I couldn’t help but notice he seemed to struggle more than Edelgard or I did at the canyon.” 

“Maybe it’s because he couldn’t hear the music?” Sothis asks. 

“Remember this though,” Byleth counters, “At the canyon, we were dealing with bandits. They aren’t exactly the definition of discipline and extensive training. Lonato was a trained soldier with many, many years of experience. When Felix fought him, not only could he keep up with the rhythm, he found a way to break Felix out of the rhythm and fight him on his own terms.” 

“So you’re saying that this magic makes us predictable?” Edelgard concludes, deflated now that this weakness was discovered. 

“It seems like it,” Sothis replies while sinking further into her throne, “And here I thought I found something revolutionary.” Sothis stews for a little bit before sitting up again and saying, “Next time we have a chance, I want to see if we can do something beyond just affecting someone’s combat rhythm with this. I don’t want to give up on this little venture of ours.” 

“Maybe next month,” Byleth confirms, “We should wrap up here. I need to file my final report on the battle.” 

“And I need to do some research tomorrow, as well,” Edelgard says, “I’m… trying to find some sort of solution to the Javelins of Light.”

“Thank you,” replies Sothis with a small, appreciative smile as she nods at Edelgard. With that, she sends her friends back to reality. 

\--------------

The next day, Edelgard is sitting in her room, fanning through a book on Fodlan’s ancient history, hoping to find a possible solution to the Javelins of Light, but there is no mention of the Javelins, Agarthans, or even TWSITD in any of the books she’s read, and this one just leads to another dead end. She slams her head between the pages of the book and groans loudly, exasperated that her search is yielding no results. She sits up again and turns the page, and finds a mention of a name. ‘Nemesis?’ She knew of this ‘Nemesis’. The hero who bore the Crest of Flames and wielded the lost Sword of the Creator; at least, that’s how her father put it. The page, though, just briefly lists the name among the Twelve Heroes of Fodlan. While each of the heroes had extensive lists of their accomplishments and accolades, Nemesis was only a passing mention. She inspects the pages closely and notices a very faint tear between the initial list and the hero Blaiddyd. Anyone reading the book would’ve missed it normally. ‘Why is Nemesis removed?’ Before she can examine further, she hears a knocking at her door. 

She leaves her desk and finds Cyril, the Archbishop’s personal servant, behind the door. 

“Yes?” She asks. 

“Professor Jeritza has a message for you. He asked to deliver it to you immediately,” he says as he hands her the letter. 

“I see,” Edelgard responds, “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” says Cyril, bowing deeply to the princess. With that, he turns down the hall and returns to his normal duties. Edelgard just watches as he leaves, and returns inside her room. She opens the letter and it simply reads, “We need to talk. Meet me in the cell. **Now**.” 

Of course, Edelgard knows exactly which cell he’s referring to, and she is curious as to what Jeritza needs to discuss in the middle of the day. She locks her door and ignites the teleport spell she learned from TWSITD, and arrives at the cell in question. There, she finds Jeritza facing a wall, holding his mask limply in his hands. 

“You needed me?” She asks. 

“She’s here…” he whispers.

“Who?” 

“My sister… in this academy… Mercedes…”

\--------------

_ The lunch bell just rang, and Jeritza ignores it while filling out some paperwork that’s on his desk. It is mostly mundane stuff; blacksmith invoices, training requests, recruitment papers, even an oddball love letter from one of the female servants. None of this matters to him though. The only thing that mattered was the request that sat in his hands.  _

_ It read, “At the end of this month, our target is the Holy Mausoleum. We will send you with a selection of Western Church mages and supporters to break the seal on Saint Seiros’ tomb. You will strictly observe and attack only when attacked. You are to verify the contents of the tomb and withdraw when finished. Leave the others behind to their fate. Do not reveal who you are. See to it that it is done.”  _

_ Jeritza knew who sent this request. While, yes, his loyalty lies with the future empress, she requested he cooperate with these… ‘people’ (he didn’t believe them to be human) for the time being. This request was simple enough. Observe and defend himself. Nothing more and straight to the point, unlike the love letter filled with sweet nothingness and such egregious fluff that could make even a heartless executioner gag in embarrassment. He burned it along with the letter from his empress’s ‘benefactors’ with a candle on his desk. He discreetly disposed of the ash in a drawer when he hears a quiet knocking at his door.  _

_ “Enter,” he orders in a firm but emotionless voice, not even turning from the open drawer as he dusts his hands of a few remaining bits of ash. He closes the drawer and sits upright, turning to see who entered, and his breath catches in his throat. ‘It can’t be…’  _

_ “Hello,” said the young woman, “I’m Mercedes von Martritz of the Blues Lions house, and I have a request to make if it’s possible.” His sister, someone he swore to protect, was standing right in front of him. Were it not for his mask, he had no doubt she would’ve recognized him immediately. How she didn’t recognize him by his hair, he didn’t know.  _

_ Mustering his will power, he says in a flat voice, “What is the request?” _

_ “You see,” Mercedes begins, taking a seat in an open chair, “I have a friend that I feel needs help training. You remember the situation with Lord Lonato, yes?” Jeritza silently nods, and Mercedes continues, “Well, my friend, Ashe, was his adopted son and he isn’t handling the aftermath well. He wasn’t able to focus today and I was wondering if it would be possible if you could come and help train with us.”  _

_ Her pleading eyes bore into his soul. Jeritza wanted to say no, that it wouldn’t be possible with his schedule, but he couldn’t deny someone as important as his sister. “What’s his weapon of choice?” He asks, his tone still flat.  _

_ “He prefers using a bow, but I think he’s open to lance techniques,” Mercedes confirms.  _

_ “I’m not available today,” Jeritza says, causing Mercedes to deflate a little until he says, “But I am available tomorrow. I’ll see you both after class then.” Mercedes thanks him profusely before leaving the room, and only once the door is closed does he lose his composure, letting loose a ragged breath as reality smacks him in the face. ‘She’s here. Why is she here?’ He quickly composed himself, putting on a blank expression and writing a quick message. He gets up from his desk and steps outside and finds the Archbishop’s loyal servant outside his door. _

_ “Excuse me,” he says in a monotone voice.  _

_ “Yes sir?” Asks the boy.  _

_ “I need you to deliver this Edelgard von Hresvelg, immediately,” he commands.  _

_ “Yes sir,” says the young boy, readily receiving the letter and running down the hallway. Jeritza turns back into his office and locks his door. He approaches an unassuming bookcase and quietly opens it, revealing a hidden passage. He descends the hidden stairwell, entering a vast labyrinth of stone walls. He steps on a peculiar symbol on the floor, and is teleported into a vacant cell. There, he waits. _

\--------------

“What?” Edelgard exclaims in shock. She knew that Jeritza had a sister, but never imagined his sister would be here, let alone someone she knew. “When did you learn this?”

“Earlier today,” he turns towards her, revealing tears rolling down his cheek, “I don’t want to have to fight her. I swore to keep her safe, by any means necessary. It’s the reason I have a raging blood lust. It’s the reason I slaughtered our father,” he closes his eyes and pleads, “Please, I don’t want to hurt her.” 

Edelgard closes her eyes, clenching her fists hard. ‘What should I do?’ Jeritza was loyal to a fault. She knew he wouldn’t hurt his sister, but by the end of the month, he would likely have to face her. Then she remembers something. 

_ “Isn’t there any way you could, I don’t know, start rebelling against him?” _

__ She opens her eyes and stares right into Jeritza’s and says, “You won’t have to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Dun Dun Duuuuuuun"- Belt, Meet the Croods
> 
> I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter, but I've got a question. Does Ashe's siblings have canon names at all? If they do, please let me know.   
> ANYWAY, next week, something a little more slice-of-lifeish is coming. A lot less angst and more fluff than anything, though, someone does get hurt badly by the end of it, but I cant spoil who yet.


	12. The Sky is a Neighborhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "So keep it down"-Foo Fighters

Jeritza stood quietly on the training grounds as the class bell sounded. While he still had reservations about training a pure novice in the art of lance combat, let alone someone not loyal to the Empire, he had made a promise to his sister, and he planned to keep it although he still kept his identity a secret. Besides, Edelgard had given him a good reason to honor his promise anyway. 

The first couple of students, specifically Felix and Annette, enter the training grounds and stop in their tracks when they see Jeritza. 

“You have business here?” Felix asks somewhat irritatedly. 

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Jeritza says flatly, “One of your classmates requested specific training from me, and I plan on honoring it.” 

Felix just nods at the intimidating man and leads Annette over to the weapons rack. At the entrance, several more students file in, among them Hubert, Bernadetta, Dimitri, Felix, Edelgard, Mercedes and his intended training partner, Ashe. He takes note of Edelgard throwing him a cautionary glance before turning his full attention to Mercedes and Ashe. 

“You must be Ashe?” He asks with a monotone voice. 

“Yes,” the young boy confirms, “Mercedes said you could help me learn to use a lance?” 

“Indeed,” Jeritza replies before turning to Mercedes, “Do you wish to join us?” 

“Actually,” she starts, “I’m hoping to continue practicing my bow technique with Bernadetta, if you’re ok with that.” 

“Very well,” Jeritza states. He turns and grabs a pair of training lances and hands one of them to Ashe, “Today, we’ll focus on stance and basic thrusts. I won’t make you spare me until you feel you are ready.” 

“Yes sir,” Ashe replies with a small amount of determination. They stand next to each other as Jeritza begins explaining and demonstrating individual stances while Ashe mirrors his movements. 

Nearby…

*Thwack* 

An arrow pierces a target, driving straight through the center. The archer who made the shot lets out a calm breath before drawing another arrow and repeating the shot, this time lodging the arrow into the first one. Although her inner demons told her it was purely luck that she could pull this off, Bernadetta couldn’t deny that she was gifted with a bow. Ever since she held one in her hands, she would always hit the target, and after only two months of training, she could hit the target dead center almost every time. Her only real disadvantages now related to working with others, actual battle and the act of taking another’s life. 

Next to her target, though, an arrow strikes one of the wooden legs that support a different target. The archer in question huffs a frustrated sigh before sending another arrow, and strikes the ground in front of it. Bernadetta turns her head nervously to look at Mercedes as her composure slowly deteriorates. She never knew the woman to be easily irritated, but her attempts at firing an arrow have, so far, proven fruitless, and the result of two weeks of training only yielded the occasional strike on a leg. 

“Um… D-do you need h-help?” Bernadetta stutters nervously. 

Mercedes looks at Bernadetta and says, “I’d very much appreciate it.” Bernadetta can tell she’s frustrated by the hostile tone in her voice. 

“Ok…” she starts, “T- Take a standard stance and draw a-an arrow.” Mercedes does as she’s told, notching an arrow and bringing it to full draw, and Bernadetta notices several things wrong. “Your bow arm is bent, needs to be straight, your eye’s on the arrow, not the target and your legs are too close together. They need to be shoulder-width-apart.” As she speaks, she helps Mercedes correct her errors. Once corrected, she lets her go and gestures towards the target. Mercedes unleashes the arrow and it, at long last, strikes the target. It’s not a bullseye, but just hitting the target gets an elated cry of joy from Mercedes. 

“Ha! I hit it! I finally hit it!” Her jubilation causes several people to look at their direction and Bernadetta suddenly feels very self cautions from the attention. Before she can hide herself, Mercedes pulls her into a vice like embrace, all while shouting her thanks for Bernadetta’s help. And somewhere, deep within the purple haired girl’s soul, the one ember finally ignites into a very, very faint flame, no brighter than that of a candle. 

Meanwhile….

As the commotion by the archery range finally dies down, Felix returns his attention to Annette, who was currently taking a few test swings with her training ax, which unfortunately seemed to have a mind of it’s own. Felix watches nervously as her latest swing sends her spinning in a circle before stopping herself and nearly falling over. She composes herself and throws an embarrassed grin towards Felix. 

“Are you absolutely sure you want to spar with me?” He asks the orange haired girl. 

“Positive,” Annette says as she readies herself, taking a rather unsteady offensive stance. 

“Very well,” Felix says with little confidence, “Let us begin.” 

He assumes a basic defensive stance and brings his sword to bear to deflect Annette, but when she charges, she trips over herself and swings the ax way too soon, hitting Felix with little more than a gust of air as she barely catches her balance again, though she now faces the wrong way… somehow. 

‘This can only get worse…’ Felix sighs as Annette turns back around to face him again, and attempts to swing her ax at him. She hits his sword, but the angle allows him to parry with little difficulty, which once again causes her to lose her footing and drop the ax as she flails her arms to regain balance. 

After grabbing her ax and resetting once more, Annette tries one more charge before tripping over herself, dropping her ax, and falling right towards Felix. He reflexively drops his sword and catches her in his arms, which in turn causes Annette to blush profusely. 

“This isn’t working,” the young swordsman says while letting go of her. He takes note of how embarrassed she is, and begins scanning the training ground, before spotting someone who could help. “Follow me,” he says. 

They walk over to where the only other ax wielder, Edelgard, is training, cleaving her training dummies in two. Felix and Annette wait patiently for her to finish her current bout before getting her attention. “Excuse me.” 

Edelgard turns and acknowledges the two, “Do you need something?” 

Felix steps forward while Annette looks down shamefully, “Yes. Annette here wanted to train with me today, but her ax technique is… lacking. I’m no good with an ax, but I am hoping you can spare some time and help us.”

Edelgard rests her ax on her shoulder and looks at Annette, whose blushing face is hard to miss. Edelgard gets a knowing grin and says, “I might be able to help.” She walks up to Annette and asks, “Have you ever wielded an ax before today?” 

“Well,” Annette begins as she bashfully looks away, “When I was younger, not long after my crest was confirmed, my father let me swing my family's relic, Crusher, a few times, but…” 

Her voice dies as she continues to look away. Felix couldn’t help but feel like Annette just wanted an excuse to train with  _ him _ specifically, and he didn’t need to take any extra guesses as to why. He also noticed Edelgard’s knowing grin, and assumed she figured out Annette as well. 

“Very well then,” Edelgard says, “I’ll help you today, but I suggest speaking with Gilbert or Alois for further training.” 

Although Annette gasps at Gilbert’s name, which confuses the princess, she simply nods before composing herself and allowing Edelgard to lead her to a training dummy. 

Meanwhile…

***BOOM***

One of the targets on the archery range explodes into many pieces as the caster smiles sinisterly at his work. Hubert has spent many weeks practicing this spell, and he finally got it powerful enough to blast the target apart. He looks over at Bernadetta while she continues helping Mercedes with her technique, and his smile seems to grow a little more gentle while he watches her. 

Before long, Bernadetta’s eyes meet his, and he realizes he was staring for a little too long. He tears his eyes away and, after getting an all clear from the girl, which somehow makes his steel heart feel funny, he approaches what remains of his target to set up a new one. 

‘Something must be wrong with me,’ he thinks as his mind once again wanders to Bernadetta. He had taken note of how much she had improved over the last two months. She didn’t stay in her room at all times now, it had been two weeks since the last time he had to get her from her room for class, and now here she was tutoring one of her peers in proper bow technique, albeit reluctantly. It was almost night and day from the girl he knew at the start of the year. Again, his heart feels funny, and he decides to just finish up for the day and resolves to talk to Edelgard about it later. 

Meanwhile… 

Two lance bearers find themselves flat on their backs as the recent blow in their sparring match sent them both sprawling. They breathe heavily as they struggle to get back to their feet, but the one with orange hair can barely get to one knee, while the blond one is able to stand unsteadily. 

A few moments later, Ferdinand finally caves and declares, “That’s it. I’m done. You win, your highness.” 

Dimitri lets loose a loud, ragged breath as he drops his lance and catches himself on his knees. He can feel the sweat that had formed on his back start cooling as the adrenaline of the fight wears away. He picks up his lance and limps slightly over to Ferdinand, and helps him to his feet. They tiredly return their lances to the rack and stumble over to the water barrel. Ever since they fought side by side at the Red Canyon, they found themselves dueling each other relentlessly. Today was no different. It started with simple thrusts and gentle parries, but once things got going, their swings, thrusts, dodges, blocks, and strikes were as indistinguishable as they were fluid like. They pushed themselves to their absolute limit until one of them finally caves from exhaustion. Neither of them have yet to land a solid enough blow to claim victory by disarming or ‘death’ (more feigning a fatal blow). 

“I have to say,” Dimitri begins, “I don’t think my bouts with Felix or Sylvain ever get this heated.” 

“Ah,” Ferdinand says rather exhaustedly, “That’s because none of my other classmates want to fight me. Edelgard’s, well, Edelgard; Hubert prefers magic; Bernadetta, I just don’t want to hurt her, she’s too innocent; Linhardt sleeps too much; Casper’s just crazy, and I don’t like fighting crazy; Petra’s like Felix, I honestly can’t keep up with her; and Dorothea… well… I’d rather not say.” 

Dimitri shrugs his shoulders as he takes a swig from his water cup, then says, “Fair enough.”

They sit silently and sip at their water before Ferdinand says, “You know, and don’t take this the wrong way, I think I understand why Felix calls you ‘boar’ all the time.” 

Dimitri levels a glare at the noble and says, “Don’t start calling me that.”

“I’m not,” Ferdinand says quickly to defend himself, “I’m not, but he has a point. You really do fight like one.” 

“How would you know?” Dimitri asks with a frown, “Have you fought one?”

Ferdinand looks away in embarrassment and says, “Once… accidentally.”

Now interested, Dimitri says, “Keep going.”

“Well,” Ferdinand begins, “Several years ago, I was training outside my father’s mansion, and got the bright idea to go hunting on my own. Some time goes by, and after no luck finding anything, I just headed back. *Sigh* And when I got back, I realized I never closed the door.”

“Oh,” Dimitri says as his frown turns upwards, “It went inside, didn’t it?”

“Yep,” Ferdinand says with a sigh, “Found it rooting around the pantry and leaving a mess. On the upside, I still had my training lance with me, but… my advice, never fight a wild boar head on, especially one with large tusks. Got a hole in my thigh and several broken ribs when it charged me the first time. Second time gave me a concussion. Third time, and I’m damn lucky I thought of this at the last second, when he charged again, I just shoved my lance at his face and he ran right into it. Split down the middle and broke the lance in the process.”

“Wow,” Dimitri says, astonished, “What did your father do?”

“I didn’t tell him the truth, actually,” Ferdinand says as he scratches the back of his head, “Told him the boar broke in and attacked me while he and a maid did what they could to get my leg to stop bleeding. Spent three weeks in bed to recover. Although, that boar certainly tasted good.” 

Dimitri starts laughing amicably at the end of the story, and Ferdinand joins in as they leave the training grounds. 

Once out of earshot of anyone in the training grounds, Dimitri asks, “If you don’t mind me asking, what did you mean by Edelgard being ‘Edelgard’?”

“Hmm,” Ferdinand starts as he rests his hands behind his head, “To put it bluntly, I can’t figure her out. She is incredibly stubborn and self isolated from everyone. But at the same time, she is open to suggestions and tries to build some kind of friendship with people. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she has a split personality sometimes.”

“I see,” Dimitri says as his personal doubts build, “Did anything… happen to her?”

“Like what?” 

“Like… how do I put this…” Dimitri scratches his head and then says, “Did you notice anything strange with her before coming here?”

Ferdiand holds his chin as he thinks, and his eyes lighten up somewhat as he says, “You know… now that you mention it, she did go missing for several years.”

“Missing?” Dimitri asks as his concern builds.

“Yeah, she went missing in…1171, as did her uncle, Lord Volkhard von Arundel. No one knew where they went, then Volkhard just turned up out of the blue in 1174. He seemed a lot more distant than before, though and Edelgard didn’t turn up until the end of 1176, the day before the new year in fact, then she kept herself isolated from everyone. The one time I did get to meet her, she didn’t recognize me. Granted, I hadn’t seen her in years by that point and I was shorter than Lysithea the last time we met, so it’s probably nothing.” 

“Hmmmm…” Dimitri took in Ferdinand’s words and considered what could’ve happened between 1174 and 1176 to Edelgard. ‘She reappeared shortly after the Tragedy of Duscur. I dread the truth of what happened. Should I tell him I knew her before?’

Before he could say anything else, they heard a voice call out to them, “Hey your Princliness, have a minute?” 

They turn and find Claude standing before them, and he is dripping wet and has a tired but cheerful look in his eye. 

“What happened to you?” Ferdinand asks curiously. 

“Teach decided to have a small fishing competition among us Golden Deer,” Claude begins, “Everything was going fine, until I found myself getting pulled into the water by something. Discovered my line got caught by Raphael’s and he thought he had a hit, so he pulled as hard as he could, and into the water I went. We had a good laugh, but now I look like I belong on a clothesline.” 

Ferdinand looks away as he tries to restrain his own laughter, but Dimitri just holds his head in his hand and says, “You know, your house seems to always find fun ways of getting into trouble  _ with _ the professor's permission.”

“Eh,” Claude shrugs, “Most of the time it’s just me, I’ll admit that.” Claude looks around and then says, “Seriously though, do you have a minute? We need to talk.”

“I should,” Dimitri says as he turns to Ferdinand, “See you next week, same time?” 

“Yep,” Ferdinand says as he walks towards his room, “See you then.” 

Once alone, Claude leads Dimitri to the Amiibo Gazebo. When they arrive, Dimitri asks, “What’s on your mind?”

“A couple of things,” Claude says as he wrings out his cape, then turns to look at Dimitri with an alarmingly serious expression, “First, you don’t suppose Teach and the princess are spending a little too much time together, do you?”

Dimitri tilts his head up as he recounts the last several weeks in his mind, “I’ve seen them train a lot together, but outside of the training grounds, not that much.”

Claude looks at the ground briefly and then says, “A few days ago, I needed to talk to Teach about something, but I heard her talking to Edelgard about something called the ‘Javelins of Light’.”

“Javelins of Light?” 

“Yeah. I couldn’t hear much else, but that stuck out to me,” Claude shakes some water from his hair and wipes it back with his hand, and says, “It just didn’t sit right with me for some reason.”

“And the other thing?” Dimitri asks. 

“Yeah. I’m sure Hanneman told you the letter that was found on Lonato right?”

“About the assassination plot?”

“Exactly,” Claude confirms, “I don’t think the Western Church is going to do it.” 

“Why do you suppose that?” Dimitri asks. 

“I don’t think Lonato would’ve been carrying that letter unless they  _ wanted  _ it to be found.”

Dimitri tilts his head to the side and says, “So, you’re saying that they have another thing in mind for the Rite of Rebirth?” 

“Yep,” Claude confirms, “Whatever they’re planning, we need to be ready for it. Want to host a meeting between everyone with me?” 

Dimitri nods his head and says, “We can host one next week. Hanneman is taking us to Remire for a ‘public relations’ test tomorrow and won't be back for a few days. For now, let’s just spread the word. Which classroom?” 

“Actually, I had somewhere else in mind.”

\--------------

Casper walked nervously to the garden where, hopefully, Petra waited. He had asked her to join him for tea the day before, but he didn't expect her to accept his invitation so readily, nor did he expect her to challenge him to a sparring match in the next breath. He hated to admit it, but Petra was superior to him in several ways. First, she was fast. He had no doubt that she could keep up with Felix in an all out duel against him. Second, she was nimble. More than once, he was certain he was going to strike her, only for her to dodge the blow with only a hair’s width between. And lastly, she was stealthy. Even in an open area with no cover to speak of, she could sneak up on him after evading one of his strikes, and bring him down with little more than a poke in the back. 

Although he was certainly bruised up after the match, he didn’t let it bruise his ego. He even promised another bout if she kept her end and had tea with him. While he had no doubt she would keep her promise, he still went into the garden with trepidation as various conversational outcomes played in his head. 

_ ‘Your father killed my father, prepare to die!’ _

_ ‘So what if I saved you, doesn’t make us friends.’ _

_ ‘Save your breath, I’ll do the talking.’ _

__ **** As his rather pessimistic visions played, he enters one of the hedges off areas in the garden, and finds a table set with a small tiered tray with various tea cakes and tea sandwiches placed upon it, a teapot with steam streaming out of the spout, a couple of tea cups sat upon saucers with an extra pair of saucers nearby, and the woman he both dreaded and looked forward to speaking to sitting opposite the table. 

“Casper,” Petra calls out with a smile as he enters, “You made it.”

“Yeah… I did,” he replies with a nervous smile of his own. He pulls the chair opposite of her and sits down before saying, “What blend is in the pot?”

“Chamomile,” she says, “We don’t drink much tea in Brigid, so I chose one that is more mild.” 

“I see,” he says then asks, “Would you like in me to…” as he gestures to the pot.

“Please,” Petra replies politely. Casper carefully pours her a cup of the tea, which she takes a gentle sip of as he pours himself a cup. They spend several minutes in silence as they enjoy the taste of the tea before Casper speaks up. 

“So, how have your… studies been?” he asks hesitantly. 

Petra takes note of Casper’s unease as she replies, “They have been fine, but you seem a little distracted. Is there something wrong?”

Casper scratches the back of his head nervously and says, “Well… I just… uh… I’m just nervous is all.” 

Petra narrows her eyes while leaning closer to the young boy, saying, “You are thinking of the last two missions, right?”

Casper deflates, knowing full well she had him pinned like their sparring match yesterday. “Yeah, it’s just, it doesn’t feel right.”

“How so?” Petra asks as he tilts her head, “I just want to look out for my friends, and you always seem to attract danger to you-” 

“But that’s just it,” he counters, “I don’t understand how you can see me as a friend.” 

Petra lowers her eyes as she realizes what’s bothering him. Casper prepares to speak again, but she raises her hand to stop him, and says, “I’m not mad at  _ you. _ ” Casper’s face becomes awash with confusion as Petra continues, “I know who your father is, and... what he did to mine. When I heard you were attending this year… a part of me wanted nothing to do with you. In fact,” She hides her face away as shame overwhelmed her, “Part of me wanted to kill you.” 

Casper sits in silent shock as Petra continues, tears forming in her eyes, “But when I had the chance to… learn about you, I realized how wrong I was. You are a good person. You str- stri-... you try to better yourself every day. You are far more than your father can ever hope to be. It is the reason why I took both of those hits for you. Because I know you are better.”

Casper is unable to form a proper response as Petra wipes the tears from her eyes, offering him a gentle smile befitting the princess of Brigid. He tries to speak, but his voice fails several times before he says, “I… I-I didn’t realize that that’s how you feel. I figured you would want to project your, uh, anger at me.”

“At one point I did,” Petra says as she picks a tea sandwich off the tray, “But then I began learning who you really are.”

Casper leans back into his chair as he takes a large gulp of tea. He sits quietly for several minutes until he remembers his conversation with Dedue, and says, “Goddess I’m an idiot.”

“I don’t think you are,” Petra responds politely, “You are just miscommunicated this time.”

Casper raises an eyebrow as he stares at Petra, “I think you mean ‘mistaken’?” 

Petra stares back at Casper as she realizes her mistake, “Ugh,” she sighs as her shoulders sag, “You’re lan… langs- languish- AGH,” she flings her hands up, sending the half eaten sandwich flying as she crosses her arms and says with irritation, “Your native tongue is hard!” She pouts in her chair as Casper tries desperately to restrain his laughter. 

Once calm, he says, “Yeah, it’s a pain.” He suddenly has an idea and asks, “You don’t suppose you could teach me a little of your language?” 

“You want to learn?” She asks as she perks up. 

“Well,” Casper begins as he rubs the back of his neck, “I figured we could help each other a little bit. I learn your language while I help you with mine. What do you say?” 

Petra smirks as she says in her native language “ _ I say, you owe me a few more rounds of sparring in the training arena if I accept. _ ”

“Uh… what?” Casper asks, confused as he is not able to understand her language.

Petra giggles as she says, “Yes, I think I would like that.” 

\--------------

Dedue knelt close to one of the flower beds in the green house as he examines the height of a certain flower in particular, a young sunflower. He knew it wouldn’t thrive in the green house for very long, and had already spoken with the greenhouse attendant about moving it to the gardens. Right now, though, the flower was two inches too short to be moved safely, so he sprinkles a small amount of fertilizer around it and moves on to another plant, this time a young rose bush. This particular one is a personal project of his and he had a spare pot off to the side to transfer it to the gardens. It is close to flowering, most of its bulbs in early development, and he had to transfer it today if it hoped to thrive. 

As he puts on his heavy leather gloves, a young, spritely girl with lavish green hair strides up to him with curiosity sparkling in her eyes. “Hello, Dedue,” she says, “Is it ready yet?” 

“Yes it is, Flayn,” he responds, “If you don’t mind, could you grab a trowel from the tool bench and an extra pot of soil?” 

“Of course!” She says excitedly, quickly grabbing the requested items. She gives Dedue the trowel and places the full pot next to the empty one. Flayn then stands next to Dedue as he carefully works the trowel around the base of the rose bush, avoiding the major roots to prevent damage. Once dislodged, he hefts the bush out of the bed and places it into the waiting pot, sprinkling some of the spare soil on the exposed roots. “How long do you think it will take for the flowers to bloom?” Flayn asks. 

“No more than a week at this point,” Dedue says with confidence, “These bulbs will start to develop color in a few days, and then the roses will start to bloom.” As he speaks, he gently shows her one of the larger appearing bulbs. 

“Wow,” Flayn says with slight amazement in her eyes, “I can’t wait. I wonder if I can make something to help them grow?”

“I would let them grow on their own. Besides trimming them on occasion, rose bushes require very little maintenance,” Dedue says, “They may be prickly with their thorns, but if given time to thrive, they can be exceptionally beautiful.” 

Flayn just beams a smile at Dedue as she takes in his words. After measuring and observing several more flowers in the greenhouse, Dedue carefully hefts the pot with the rose bush and starts walking towards the gardens with Flayn in tow. As they walk, they pass the fishing pond, where Marianne is receiving praise for catching the largest fish of the day, leaving her in an embarrassed, shocked stupor while Hilda embraces her friend. Leonie scowls off to the side with an empty fish pail beside her and Raphael stands next to her while looking longingly at the large catch in Marianne’s hands. Byleth just has a bright smile on her face as she announced the end of this impromptu fishing competition. 

Flayn also looks at the overfull fish pails with inspiration in her eyes. “With that much fish, I could make enough fish cakes to feed the entire monastery!” Dedue subtly tenses as the prospect of hundreds of Flayn’s fish cakes makes his stomach do a backflip, but due to his stoic nature, no one notices his sudden onset of discomfort. 

They enter the back of the gardens to find a row of flowers lining the wall. Most of them are perfectly healthy, but sadly, one of the rose bushes had lost most of its leaves and had not developed flower bulbs. Dedue stops in front of the obviously dying bush and places the new rose bush next to it. He grabs the trowel from his belt and starts digging around the dying bush as Flayn stands off to the side, watching curiously. 

As Dedue gets a good grip on the bush, he orders gently, “Stand back,” which Flayn obeys. After a quick breath, he hefts the dying bush out of the ground and shakes the loose soil off the roots. He places the bush on his right and turns his attention back to the hole that was created. 

“Do you want me to help?” Flayn asks, looking down the shallow hole as an exposed earthworm tries desperately to return underground. 

“Yes,” he says as he hands her the trowel, “I need to go back and grab some fertilizer. Can you dig a big enough hole for the new bush?” 

“Of course!” She says as she kneels down and starts digging, trying to avoid getting any dirt on herself with marginal success. Dedue chuckles lightly before walking back to the greenhouse to get the fertilizer. 

As he walks by the market, though, a rather panicked Sylvain rushes up to him, and begs, “Help me!” to the large man. Dedue looks at the market as several women are marching toward them, the leader being the red haired shopkeeper Anna. The look on her face is one of pure and unfiltered hatred, and is matched by the other four who followed her. Sylvain hides behind Dedue as the women stop in front of him. 

“What did he do now?” Dedue asks with a small amount of restrained exasperation. 

“Well,” Anna begins as she glares at Sylvain, “That boy has been leading these women on for several weeks now with promises of eternal love and showering affection. I had spoken with them before this and figured something was up.” She grits her teeth and balls her fists and shouts, “But then the damn womanizer had the audacity to try and flirt with me!!” 

At this point, the commotion has drawn the attention of several onlookers, one of them a tired looking Linhardt, who mumbles, “It was actually quiet here for once…” as he stands up to leave, though his curiosity keeps him in place. 

The Golden Deer, who had by now finished their fishing competition, rushes around the corner to find the confrontation unfolding. Byleth tries to approach it, but she is held back by Ignatz and Lorenz as the latter says, “Don’t. The poor fool has had this coming for weeks now. Let it happen.”

Sylvain continues to cower behind Dedue as the large man says, “I understand your irritation, but he is both a student and of noble birth. I doubt that you would go unpunished if you tried anything to harm him.”

Anna huffs angrily as she says, “Well, there are only two things I care about right now, and that is the gatekeeper over there,” she points to where John is standing, which causes him to tense up somewhat, as she continues, “And the money in my coin purse. While I may have too much to lose, my new friends here are far less restr-,” 

Before she finishes, though, they all hear a voice shout violently from the gate, “SYLVAIN JOSE GAUTIER!!!” All five women whip around to find another student with braided blond hair, but she isn’t alone as six other women are behind her. 

\--------------

Ingrid and Dorothea exit one of the tailors in the town that neighbors Garreg Mach. They are happily chatting to each other about some of the more mundane topics that often floated around the monastery, such as who’s dating who or what maid kissed which guard. They had a good laugh at some of the topics they discussed, though Dorothea is clearly leading the conversation. 

“Anyway,” she begins, “From what I’ve heard, the pretty red haired shopkeeper has had a thing for the gatekeeper for weeks. I would not be surprised if they have already spent a day with nothing but each other and a bottle of wine by now.” Dorothea giggles as the prospect of their relationship floats around in her mind. 

Ingrid just giggles along and says, “You know, there’s more to life than just gossiping about men and women and their relationships with each other.” 

“I know,” Dorothea replies with a small sigh, “But I come from an opera company full of hopeless romantics. It was all we could discuss at Mittelfrank beyond how a scene should be performed.” 

“Oh, I understand,” Ingrid says, “I can imagine the stresses of theatre life aren’t the same as noble life.” 

“Well,” Dorothea begins with an even deeper sigh, her otherwise good mood deflating somewhat, “As I’ve said before, I was never blessed with an easy life. I spent most of my young years wandering the streets of Enbarr begging for scraps until Mittelfrank took me in. When they set me up with a scholarship for Garreg Mach, I simply couldn’t thank them enough for giving me an opportunity to build a life outside of theatre. I’ll admit, when I first arrived, all I wanted was to find a man to support me for the rest of my life, but everyone here has helped me realize just how much more I could become beyond a pretty face in a crowd.”

“I know what you mean,” Ingrid says as her mood also deflates, “I still remember the day my father told me I was betrothed to Glenn. Initially, I thought it was barbaric, but I was too naive at the time to realize just how much my family and territory needed the help. And, when I finally met Glenn, it changed my life. I understood why my father chose him over so many other possible bachelors. I came to accept what my fate was, and didn’t think much else of my future beyond being the best wife he could ever ask for. But then…” Ingrid’s eyes drift down as a small tear rolls down her cheek, “Then the Tragedy happened. Everything I ever hoped for, dreamed of, gone. I don’t know how long I cried when I was told that Glenn had to be buried. The only thing I remember afterward was Sylvain doing everything he could to bring me back, to give me a reason fight on. It’s the reason why I came here. So I could fight on.” Dorothea notices a faint smile of determination appearing on her face, and she simply nods silently. 

As they walk, though, they hear the beginnings of an argument near the tavern. When they approach, they see five women, all close to their age, about ready to throw fists at each other. 

“He asked me first!” One shouts angrily.

“No, he asked me!” Another retaliates.

“Can’t y’all take this somewhere else?” The desperate tavern owner pleads.

“NO!” They all shout at once. 

After exchanging a worried look at each other, Ingrid and Dorothea put themselves between the warring women as the latter says, “Ladies, please. Calm down, and we can discuss this in a civilized manner. No need to get violent.”

“What,” one of them shouts, “You think you can take him from me too?!”

“Take who?” Ingrid asks as she restrains one of the women. 

“Oh, he’s so dreamy,” Another woman says with a slight shine in her eyes, “He’s tall, handsome, strong…” She lets out a blissful sigh as her memory of him plays in his mind. 

“That doesn’t answer our question,” Dorothea says, now with visible irritation in her eyes as she forcefully brings one of the more aggressive women to the ground. “Honestly, if you are all talking of the same man, then you all should be ashamed for thinking he’s a worthy catch. Seriously, who's to say how many women he’s deceived with such lies.” This brings the five women to their senses as they realize just how ignorant they now appear. Dorothea throws a quick look at the tavern owner as he mouths “thank you” at her. She releases the woman she restrained and helps her to her feet.

“Now,” Ingrid says, “Just who is it exactly that’s leading you all on?”

“One of the academy students,” the first woman says, “Some red haired guy named ‘Sylvain’ I think.” 

“What?!” Dorothea exclaims, “You mean he’s the one who has led you all on like this?” The women all nod as visible irritation for the boy adorns their face. Dorothea turns to Ingrid and says, “Ingrid, I think we nee-” but she stops as she feels a chill run down her spine when she looks at her friend. 

Ingrid’s head is tilted down, far enough that her bangs cover her eyes. The edges of her mouth are turned down as she grits her teeth, and her fists are clenched hard enough that veins are visible. All the women shudder in fear as she barely whispers, “I am going to end him.”

\--------------

“SYLVAIN JOSE GAUTIER!!!” Ingrid shouts at the top of her lungs after she spots the boy. His shivers of fright stop as his eyes shrink down to pinpricks while Ingrid’s are filled with purified rage. The five women who initially confronted him step away to the side as Dedue stands firm and unmoving. Ingrid slowly stalks towards Dedue as everyone in the market stops and stares at what’s about to happen. 

“Ingrid,” Deduce begins, “I implore you t-” He abruptly stops as Ingrid simply brushes past him, looking down at a cowering Sylvain. 

“I-I-I-Ingrid…” he says while failing to act natural, “I… uh… I was coming to look for- AH!” Before he can finish, Ingrid grabs his ear and begins hauling him away from the market. He stumbles and trips as she drags him past the Golden Deer students, their expressions ranging from unapologetic grins to mute frowns of worry. They pass the Amiibo gazebo, and again, gain a worried look from a somewhat shocked Claude while Dimitri rubs his eyes in disappointment. 

They barely hear Dimitri shout, “I warned you…” as they approach the occupied training grounds. 

\--------------

Flayn, blissfully unaware of the events in the marketplace, sat patiently beside the sizable hole she made, waiting for Dedue to return. She idly played with her thumbs and brushed the dirt off her dress when she sees Dedue approaching with a small bag of fertilizer. 

“Dedue,” she exclaims with sudden concern, “What took so long?”

“An incident in the market,” he answers calmly, “Nothing that concerns us.”

“Us?” she says as she turns away bashully, her face flush with embarrassment.

“*Cough* Well… nothing that…. Uh…” Dedue’s composure breaks slightly as he searches for an excuse to no avail. “Let’s, just finish relocating the roses.” He says as he gestures to the near blooming bush next to Flayn.

“OH… yes, let’s!” She says excitedly, her earlier embarrassment nowhere to be seen. 

Deduce kneels down near the hole Flayn had made and, after putting on the gloves, gently lifts the new rose bush out of its pot and places it down. He pushes some of the dirt into the hole to fill the roots while Flayn quickly grabs a nearby watering can for Dedue. He gently pats the earth down and then sprinkles just enough water to moisten the dirt. He takes a small handful of fertilizer and sprinkles it around the bush. 

“That should do,” Dedue declares calmly. He stands up to look at his work. Soon, the entire garden will be awash with the many colors of the flowers present here, and this rose bush will soon join the many that surround it in the dazzling rainbow. Flayn stands next to Dedue as they take in the soon to flower garden. 

“I can’t wait for the flowers to bloom,” Flynn says blissfully, “I’m sure it will be beautiful.” She leans against Dedue when she finishes speaking, which causes Dedue to blush slightly, but due to his darker complexion, she doesn’t notice. 

However, their moment of silence together is broken by a blood curdling scream that washes over the entire monastery. Flayn quickly grabs onto Dedue as fear fills her eyes, but Dedue is unfazed by the scream, because he knows exactly who made it. 

Two frightened people, Casper and Petra, peak around the corner and spot Dedue and Flayn, with Casper asking, “What was that?”

“If I had a guess,” Dedue says, “I would say Sylvain made the scream.” 

“What did he do?” Petra asks with a frightened frown.

“I’m sure you will learn soon enough,” is Dedue’s only response. 

\--------------

Later that night, Sothis is curled up on her throne as she rocks back and forth in fear for what she had witnessed. Byleth and Edelgard stand before said throne with concern written on their face as they glance at each other. “Does this happen often?” Edelgard asks.

“The last time she was like this,” Byleth answers, “Was the first time she spoke with you.” Edelgard looks back at Sothis, her concern deepening. Byleth then asks, “Do you know what happened?”

“Well, I was leaving the training grounds when I saw Ingrid dragging Sylvain by his ear,” Edelgard begins, “I tried asking what was going on, but she just walked past me as Sylvain begged me to help. I initially wanted to but Dimitri called out and said ‘Don’t help him, he has it coming’. He and Claude pulled me aside to discuss the letter that was on Lonato when we all heard just this… scream of pure agony,” she waves her hands above her head as she says this, “And a few minutes later, Jeritza had Sylvain over his shoulder while he held Ingrid by her arm, though she wasn’t resisting at all and had this smug look on her face. Sylvain, though…” Edelgard shudders as the memory returns, “He looked like he was beaten by a bear, a wolf, and a lion all at once. Dimitri left to follow them when Claude told me about a meeting happening next week between the classes.” 

“Yeah,” Byleth replies, “Claude suggested we have a meeting with each class to discuss the letter together. I’m not sure why he said the location was secret, though.” 

When Byleth finishes speaking, Sothis finally pipes up and says in a quiet whisper, “A lance should never be used in that way….” Her eyes are wide with pure fear unbefitting the Goddess.

Byleth and Edelgard exchange even more worried glances as they imagine what Ingrid could’ve possibly done with her lance to harm Sylvain so badly, even the Goddess herself is mortified.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Shudders*   
> I'll admit, I initially wanted to write out what happened, but if I did, this story would get an explicit rating.   
> Anyway, this was just a little slice of life chapter, nothing too terribly plot heavy, but a lot of relationship building. Hope you all enjoyed.


	13. Good at Being Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And the only thing we're guilty of is, we're just good at being bad."- Achievement Hunter (The Musical)

Catherine huffs a reserved sigh as she observes the sparring match between Ingrid and Dimitri. Due to the incident last week, Ingrid was no longer permitted to spar unless supervised by a professor or one of the knights. As for Sylvain, he could no longer leave the monastery grounds without the direct supervision of one of the professors or while being accompanied by no less than three of his classmates, regardless of house. Catherine has a sardonic grin as she imagines that this was more for his  _ safety  _ than to keep him from flirting with too many women again. Two women have already been barred entry to the monastery for attempting to attack the poor boy when he and the Blue Lions returned from the ‘public relations’ test. 

Her eyes drift away from Ingrid’s match and observes the otherwise empty training grounds. Only four others were present. Cyril and Shamir are at the archery range, the young boy taking several shots at his target while Shamir helps adjust his stance and grip on the bow. Nearby, Jeritza and Ashe are going through what Catherine believes to be the slowest sparring match in history. She knew Ashe is a pure novice with a lance, but she didn’t expect Jeritza of all people to take up the duty of teaching him, let alone at such a slow pace. She has her reservations about the intimidating man, but he seems to be taking great care in how he instructs Ashe, so she hasn’t made an issue out of it. 

Her attention returns to Ingrid and Dimitri’s bout, when Ingrid ducks suddenly to dodge a wide swing from Dimitri’s lance. She springs up and catches his lance with her sword, and sends the blade flying out of his hands, right towards Catherine. The knight just catches the lance nonchalantly with little difficulty, and Ingrid points her sword at Dimitri as he raises his hand in defeat. 

“That’s enough,” Catherine says with a grin, “I see your sword technique has improved quite a bit, Ingrid.” 

“Thank you,” Ingrid replies as she lowers her blade, “I was actually hoping to ask if I could have a few private lessons with you soon on sword combat. I’d ask Professor Byleth, but she has been spending a lot of time with Marianne this week with her own technique.”

“I don’t mind,” Catherine confirms, “I’m actually available tomorrow evening if you need training then.” 

“Actually,” Dimitri starts, “We have something going on at that time tomorrow, so it might not work out.” 

“Would the day after work?” Ingrid asks. 

“No problem,” Catherine confirms, “You two best get cleaned up for the night. Take care.” She waves at the two students as they depart the training grounds before turning towards Jeritza and Ashe. She had been meaning to talk to the young boy for the last week now, but hasn’t worked up the courage to speak to him about the last mission. Unfortunately for her, Ashe had also finished his ‘sparring match’ (she firmly believes it was too slow to be called that) with Jeritza and also leaves the training grounds before she has a chance to catch him. 

Catherine heaves a small sigh as she watches him leave, and is heard by Jeritza who says in an incredibly monotone voice, “He doesn’t hate you.” 

“And how would you know?” Catherine asks as she throws a cautionary glare at him. 

“Ashe is surprisingly open about himself. If you take the time to actually speak with him, I’m sure he can help you bury the hatchet.” Jeritza says as he leaves the training ground. Catherine shakes her head before waking over to Shamir and Cyril, the latter stowing away his target and bow as he also finishes for the day. 

“How’s he doing?” Catherine asks. 

“He still has much to learn,” Shamir says without taking her eyes off the young boy, “But he is improving faster than I initially thought he would. If given enough time, I’m sure he will be a worthy addition to the Knights of Seiros.” 

Catherine grins ironically as she says, “I’m still curious as to why you don’t believe in the Goddess.”

“I never had a reason to believe,” Shamir says as she waves at Cyril as he leaves, “Between Dagda being conquered and losing most of my livelihood in the process, I really don’t see the point.” 

Catherine shrugs as she and Shamir leave the training grounds and enter the main courtyard, “I understand. I keep my faith strong because of my crest and relic. If my faith wavers even a moment, I doubt my gifts would keep me safe when I need it.”

Shamir laughs gently and says, “Don’t you forget, you still have a hard ass archer to watch your back.” She grasps Catherine’s hand tightly as they continue to walk down the courtyard. 

“You know,” Catherine starts, “I wonder what the students are getting up to tomorrow. Dimitri said they had something planned, but I didn’t bother to ask.”

“Probably another excursion,” Shamir theorizes, “After they started working together at the Red Canyon, they’ve been spending more and more time as a student body as opposed to separate houses. Seteth says it’s only a matter of time till it all goes to Hell, but I want to see where this goes.” 

“Still,” Catherine says as they reach the fishing pond, the pale white moon reflecting off the water, “I can’t help but feel the students are planning something. Nothing malicious, but I can’t shake the feeling.” 

“If I’m honest,” Shamir says as she looks into Catherine’s eyes, “I think you worry too much, Cath.” Shamir leans against Catherine as they turn their eyes towards the calm waters of the pond, their worries washing away for the night. 

\--------------

The next morning, the students all awoke to slips of paper sitting by their doors. It simply read:

“Meeting at the tavern in town at 4:00 pm- Claude”

For several students, this message also had a small addendum at the end. For Sylvain, it said- “Walk with Felix, Dimitri, and Ashe to lower suspicions.” Similar notes were made for the three men mentioned as well, and they all understood why (much to Sylvain’s embarrassment).

For Mercedes, it said- “Bring some baked goods, your choice, have Bernadetta and Annette help.” Again, similar notes were made for the two women, though all three of them were confused as to why Claude wanted the three of them  _ specifically _ for this ‘baked goods’ duty. 

But for Byleth, strangely, her note just read, “Meet me at the gate when you are awake and ready.” Byleth heaves a heavy sigh as she dons her day clothes while asking Sothis, “You mind staying with Edelgard today? I feel like Claude wants to talk to me alone.” 

“Sure thing,” the Goddess says, “You and Claude can go on your date while I bug the princess. Have fun.” 

This irritates Byleth for some reason, and she growls under her breath, “It is not a date,” but gets no response from Sothis as she walks out the door. 

It doesn’t take her long to reach the front gate, where someone new is keeping watch over it. She doesn’t see Claude immediately, so she walks over to the new gatekeeper and asks, “Hey, where’s John?” 

“John?” The new gatekeeper asks, “He’s got the day off. Said something about going into town later for something.” Byleth looks around the market and notices Anna’s stall is closed when normally she’d have another auction set up. She gets a knowing grin once she realizes what they could be up to. She then spends several minutes perusing the other market stalls until she hears her nickname getting called. 

“Hey Teach!” Claude calls, “Over here!” Byleth turns and sees Claude standing near the armorer's stall, waving at her. She calmly approaches him though her eyes radiate suspicion once she reaches the young boy. 

“What exactly do you have planned today?” She asks accusingly. 

“I’ll explain when we get to town,” he says as he hurried her through the gate, “We need to make a few stops along the way to the tavern, so we need to go.” 

Byleth is initially surprised by his abrupt behavior, but she simply goes along with it as they make their way to the town. 

\--------------

Jeralt looks over the semi organized ranks of new… ‘knights’ that had been recruited. While it certainly didn’t take long to find suitable replacements for the knights lost against Lonato, he knew it would take some time until these fresh recruits would even be worthy of such a high title. 

“Listen up!” He shouts, snapping all present to attention, “Today every single one of you will be put through a physical stress test to determine your current skill level with your chosen piece of weaponry, and will also be put through a fitness test to determine the overall training regiment. If you bear a sword, you will be tested by Catherine. If you bear a lance, you will be tested by Jeritza. If you bear an ax, you will be tested by Alois. And Archers, you will be tested by Shamir. The fitness test will be administered by Gilbert and I once all weapons tests have been concluded. Any questions before we begin?” 

One recruit timidly raises his hand, and Jeralt nods at him before he asks, “Will we get a break at some point?” 

“No.” Jeralt answers with little sympathy in his voice, “You will not get a break until all tests have been finished. Any further questions?” After getting no further hands raised, he nods at Catherine, Jeritza, Alois, and Shamir to begin testing the new recruits. 

“You know Captain,” Gilbert says calmly as he watches the first round of tests, “I can’t help but have little faith in these new recruits. They have shown little discipline and most of them seem only slightly familiar with their weapons. At this rate, we won’t have a sustainable force until next year.” 

“It’s the best we can hope for,” Jeralt says with noticeable concern in his voice, “The Empire and the Alliance both refused to send anyone from their respective armies, and the Kingdom’s army is currently occupying what’s left of Duscur and hunting down dissenters of the Western Church per our own request. I also highly doubt the temporary king Rufus would want to expend his resources too thin by sending even more soldiers to our aid.”

“Regardless,” Gilbert says, turning towards the captain with irritation written on his face, “The least we could’ve done is look into the mercenary guilds and find those who would serve the Church.”

“I ran a band of mercenaries,” Jeralt responds, now equally irritated, “The only loyalty they know is the highest bidder. Even those under my command, if the money's right, would likely turn their swords against the Church at the drop of a hat. They worked with us on the student’s last mission because I had the funds to rehire them. Once the money’s gone, they walk.”

Gilbert sighs heavily and looks away, shaking his head once the reality of their situation finally settles. They observe the unfortunately brief sparring matches occurring between the novices and the more experienced instructors until Gilbert asks, “You don’t suppose there is something more going on with the assassination plot, do you?” 

“Of course I do,” Jeralt says, “Why do you think the letter was on Lonato in the first place.”

“Do you have any theories?” 

“No, but I imagine the kids have caught on and are making theories themselves,” Jeralt says as he nods at several students walking past the congregated trainees. 

Gilbert huffs in agreement and says, “If I know some of them at all, they probably already have a plan in place for what could really be going on.”

Jeralt tilts his head and looks at the older looking gentleman and asks, “Don’t you have a daughter among them as well? I heard a rumor floating around.”

Gilbert looks away and says, “I don’t want to talk about it,” then walks over to where several trainees have gathered to begin their initial fitness test. Jeralt just sighs in disappointment before also turning to another group to begin theirs. 

\--------------

Byleth looks cautiously at Claude as they enter the town. He had been silent the entire walk and now she is curious as to why they needed to leave so soon. “So,” she begins, “What do we need to get?”

“Actually,” Claude says as he flashes her his trademark grin, “We don’t really need anything. I just wanted to spend some time with you.” 

‘So it is a date,’ Byleth thinks bitterly, ‘Damn you, Sothis.’ Byleth sighs gently before returning Claude’s grin with one of her own and asks, “What did you have in mind?”

“Well,” Claude begins as he scratches his head, “I kind of want to know why you spend so much time with the princess.” 

“Ah,” Byleth says as she realizes her student has finally caught on to her. Thankfully, she and Edelgard had already prepared an excuse for the occasion, “After the battle at the Red Canyon, she asked me for some extra training. We had both fought in that room against the leader and she said she was impressed by my swordsmanship and she wanted to learn from me.”

“But I thought she had an undying interest in axes,” Claude points out.

“She still does,” Byleth responds, “But she also said she used to use a sword in her younger days and wanted to be able to use both if needed. It’s actually half the reason I’ve been pushing you to pick up another weapon besides a bow. It would be no good for you to lose or break it and get caught without a means of defending yourself. 

“Fair enough,” Claude replies, though Byleth knew he wasn’t buying the excuse. “Besides helping Edelgard, what else have you been up to recently?”

“Well, Leonie and Lysithea had an argument a few days ago I had to break up.” 

“What happened?” Claude asks with an exasperated sigh. 

“Apparently, Lysithea has been giving Cyril a few lessons in reading and writing and Leonie decided to eavesdrop on them. Goddess knows why she did that, but Lysithea caught her and they had been arguing for some time when Tomas had to get me to break it up. I tried to get Leonie to explain herself but she got really defensive about it and left in a huff. Lysithea had already gotten back to teaching Cyril when I turned to her, so I just dropped the issue and went about my day.” 

Claude has a grin on his face as he says, “It almost sounds like Leonie’s jealous of Lysithea.” 

“Jealous how?” Byleth asks. 

“If you haven’t noticed,” Claude begins, “Leonie has gotten awfully close to Raphael recently, and I am more than willing to bet she’s got a crush on him.” 

“Leonie?” Byleth asks incredulously, “Having a crush on Raphael of all people? I’ll believe it when I see it.” 

“Then that makes you unobservant,” Claude teases while shoulder bumping Byleth playfully. Byleth gives a small laugh as they approach the tavern to prepare for the apparent meeting. 

\--------------

Edelgard paces nervously in her room as she inspects herself in her mirror for the fifth time. She hears Sothis give an audible sigh, and she turns to where the invisible specter is sitting and asks, “What?”

“Just sitting here and pacing in front of your mirror isn’t going to help you,” Sothis says, “Listen, I know your nervous about having a date with Dimitri, but-,”

“It’s not a date!” Edelgard shouts at Sothis, “It is just a…,” She hesitates for a moment as she comes up with an excuse, “political meeting between two world leaders and nothing else.”

“Ok, first,  _ future  _ world leaders,” Sothis corrects, which earns a glare from Edelgard before she continues, “Second, while I won’t argue with the ‘political’ part, he seems genuinely interested in getting to know you better. In his eyes, this might very well be a date.” 

Edelgard just looks away and takes several deep breaths to steady herself before she says, “It’s not what I’m nervous about…” 

“Oh…” Sothis whispers with realization, “So you mean…” She floats over to the bed as Edelgard’s eyes track the spirit’s presence. 

“Sleeping with him?” Edelgard asks with irritation audible in her voice.

Sothis scoffs gently and says, “What’s under this bed?”

“A trunk?”

“And what is in the trunk?”

“My Emper- oh…” Edelgard looks away as she realizes what Sothis meant.

“You’re worried about how he’ll react to the Emperor of Flames,” Sothis says, “Were you planning on admitting that this soon?”

“No,” Edelgard responds quietly, “It… it’s too early to do that.”

“Edelgard, do you know the biggest lesson I learned in the last two months?” Edelgard looks at the spirit’s presence and shakes her head before Sothis continues, “Be honest with the friends you have. That night when you called me out for talking to Byleth, I genuinely thought I blew my chance of befriending you, of  _ helping  _ you. When you came back and tried to mend things, I resolved to be as transparent as possible with you. And look where we are now. Here I am, giving you advice not on your battle stance or combat rhythm, but for a simple date.”

“It’s not a date…” Edelgard mumbles under her breath although her eyes show nervous insincerity. 

“Listen,” Sothis says as she draws closer to Edelgard, “I’m not saying you have to tell him outright. That comes with time. And given what you have already done, it’s almost guaranteed that he won’t be happy about it. If anything, he might even…well, let's not think about that. But that’s the thing about the truth. Sometimes, it just hurts, and it is the worst aspect of life that one could face. What separates the strong from the weak though is how you handle the truth.” 

Edelgard closes her eyes as Sothis speaks, taking in her every word. ‘When I do tell him the truth, though, how  _ will _ he handle it?’ 

“And another thing,” Sothis says, pulling Edelgard out of her thoughts, “Don’t forget what you also have hidden besides the armor under your bed. Telling the whole truth and not just part of it will help him understand better.” Edelgard looks at Sothis’s presence for a few moments as an uncertain clarity fills her. She grins slightly as she nods at the spirit. Before they say anything else, the noon bell rings, and uncertainty fills Edelgard once again as she realizes what she will soon do. Sothis seemingly embraces Edelgard with her presence which calms the princess somewhat as the spirit says, “Don’t keep him waiting.” 

\--------------

Dimitri fiddles with the tablecloth nervously as Dedue finished placing the tiered platter full of tea cakes on the table. Although Dimitri had been anticipating this meeting since they returned from the Gaspard region, he is now having second thoughts as the conversational possibilities played in his mind.

_"_ _ I am not your friend!" _

_ "What do you mean we knew each other?!" _

_ "Your father was easy, you will be easier!" _

“You’re sweating again,” Dedue says as he hands the prince a small cloth. Dimitri accepts the cloth and wipes his face, but Dedue still gives him a stoic, but concerned look. “You need to calm down, your highness. Getting worked up over tea is not ideal.”

“You’re right,” Dimitri says as he looks away slightly, “It’s just… I really don’t know how this will go.” Dimitri lets out a long yawn as he sits in his chair. 

“Have you been sleeping alright?” Dedue asks as he takes note of the small bags that appear under Dimitri’s eyes. 

“Not as much as I should,” Dimitri says quietly, “I still have nightmares about the Tragedy.” Dimitri looks over the table that had been set up, and says, “Thanks for helping me set this up, by the way. I don’t know if I could’ve done this without you.” 

“It was no problem,” Dedue says with a slightly merry tone, “Although, it did become a bit stressful when Mercedes took over the kitchen. I wonder how they are doing.” Dedue looks towards the kitchen’s direction as he says this.

\--------------

“I need blueberries! Where’s the blueberries?!” Annette shouts as she sifts through the pantry, trying her damnedest not to make a mess and failing miserably. 

“Over here!” Bernadetta calls, any sign of insecurity lost as she focuses entirely on her baking task at hand, “I needed them for the muffins. Could you grab some rock sugar while you’re over there though?” 

“And the chocolate chips as well!” Mercedes calls as she finishes mixing some cookie dough, sans chocolate. “And some walnuts, please.” 

“Sure thing!” Annette rushes the requested ingredients over to her friends and grabs the blueberries from Bernadetta to add to her fruit tarts.

After several minutes, the three women add their chosen baked goods to the ovens and collapse to the ground, exhausted from their work. Mercedes takes several deep breaths before saying, “This is why I never take a last minute request for anything baked.”

\--------------

“They’re probably fine now,” Dimitri says, though he has a feeling he’s wrong. 

They spend several minutes in silence when they hear a couple of faint voices speaking with each other, and Dimitri’s nervousness seems to increase as he recognizes both. Dimitri just looks at Dedue only for the larger man to nod and offer a small smile at the young prince. Dimitri takes a few calming breaths before standing from his chair and moving to the other side to greet his coming guest. 

As expected, Edelgard and her retainer, Hubert, turn around the corner and enter the hedged off area of the garden, and from Dimitri’s perspective, the princess’s countenance is stiff and unbalanced, suggesting that she is just as nervous for their meeting as he is, which surprisingly abates Dimitri’s nerves somewhat though some rather uncertain thoughts still plague his mind. 

“Hello, Dimitri,” Edelgard says with a somewhat shaky breath. 

“Hello, Edelgard,” Dimitri says with an equally unsteady breath, “I’m glad you are able to make it.” 

“As am I,” Edelgard says with a small smile. She turns to Hubert and says, “We should be fine on our own.” Hubert bows slightly to the princess before sending an uncertain look towards Dimitri. The prince, however, misses the look as he nods at Dedue to take his leave as well. 

After Dedue bows and leaves with Hubert in tow, the two royals stand awkwardly alone in the tea garden. Edelgard gently brushes a strand of her heart behind her ear while Dimitri scratches the back of his head before saying, “Would you… like a seat?” as he pulls a chair from the table. 

“Yes,” Edelgard says a little too loudly, “Of course.” Dimitri winces slightly, but isn’t noticed by Edelgard as she takes her seat. 

Dimitri steps around the table and takes his own seat opposite her and asks, “Uh… would you like some tea?” 

“What’s the blend?” Edelgard asks as she adjusts her chair to a more comfortable position. 

“It’s a simple black tea.” Dimitri confirms as he tries to calm his nerves.

“Very well,” Edelgard says amicably as Dimitri takes hold of the tea pot. Dimitri pours her a cup, and as he pours himself a cup, he notices that she puts four sugar cubes into her cup. Edelgard notices Dimitri’s curious looks and says, “I… uh… never liked my tea bitter. I usually prefer it sweet.”

“I see…” Dimitri says as he takes a sip of his straight black tea, the flavor dead to his tongue. ‘Still nothing, huh. Oh well.’

Edelgard takes a few seconds to stir her tea before taking a sip, and then adds another sugar cube before stirring again, “So… how have things been with Felix and Sylvain recently.”

“Felix has been alright,” Dimitri begins, “He’s been spending a lot of time training with Annette, and I’m surprised just how close they’ve become in the last few weeks. As for Sylvain, he’s been a mess. Ever since Ingrid… ‘taught him a lesson’ as she put it, he has been doing what he could to avoid her and any other woman that comes into the monastery. It only got worse when we came back from our test in Remire and he got jumped by a pair of women, and Felix, Ashe and I had to intervene to save him.”

“Well, it certainly seems their situations have changed, though Sylvain’s has been for the worse,” Edelgard observes while sipping her overly sweetened tea, just as she likes it. 

“It’s not all bad though,” Dimitri says as he leans into his chair, “Anna, that red haired merchant, offered the rest of my house a discount if we can keep Sylvain on a tighter leash before he digs himself another hole again.” Edelgard nods silently as she plucks one of the tea cakes from the tiered platter. As she chews it, Dimitri asks, “How have things been for the Eagles?”

“They’ve been great,” Edelgard says once she finishes chewing, “Bernadetta isn’t locked away in her room at all hours anymore, but actually getting her to work with anyone is still a hassle. Hubert gets through to her better than anyone else, though. Ferdinand, however, has become insufferable with how often he speaks of his grand duels against a certain prince.” She levels a playful glare at Dimitri as he looks away somewhat shamefully before she continues, “But he has improved leaps and bounds than if he were to spar against any of us. If anything, thank you for sparing him.”

“Sure, no problem,” Dimitri says somewhat bashfully for the praise. “How’s everyone else been?”

“Casper and Petra have also been sparring a lot lately too, and I think they finally buried the hatchet between themselves” 

Dimitri looks up confused and asks, “What happened between them?”

Edelgard finishes her tea cake and says, “Not them specifically, their fathers. During the war against Dagda, Brigid got roped in to invade us. The invasion wasn’t successful and Brigid surrendered while Dagda was sacked. Before they surrendered, though, Casper’s father, Count Bergliez, killed Petra’s father in battle,” Dimitri’s eyes widened with shock at this as she continued, “When Petra found out that Casper was attending, she confided in me that she wanted nothing to do with him. And then, the battle at the Red Canyon happened, and she saved him while nearly getting herself killed. When I asked her why she did that, she said that… in her words, ‘Casper is not his father.’ I think she meant to say Casper is different from Count Bergliez, but I honestly don’t see what she sees in him. Maybe I’ll see with time.” Edelgard takes another tea cake from the platter and chews on it contemplatively as Dimitri silently sips his tea. 

They spend some time in silence, content to simply enjoy each other’s company as the awkwardness fades away. When Edelgard finishes what’s left of the tea, she asks, “What do you suppose the letter found on Lonato is trying to hide?” She already knew, of course, but she wanted to see if Dimitri could figure out a workable theory.

“If I’m honest,” Dimitri says as he rests his now empty cup down, “I really don’t know. The best I can think of is that they are going to steal something important to the Church when we aren’t looking, but what they could possibly want, it’s anyone’s guess.” 

Edelgard nods as she grabs a jelly filled pastry and chews on it. Dimitri also reaches for the platter without looking, only to find that all the pastries had been eaten. He looks incredulously at Edelgard as she finishes the last one before her eyes meet his, then glances back and forth between the platter and Dimitri. “Uh…” Edelgard fails to form an answer as Dimitri just closes his eyes, leans back into his chair, and tries his hardest not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Edelgard feels initially insulted by the laughter, until the situation also reaches her and she, too, tries to restrain her laughter. 

“You know,” Dimitri says as he composes himself, “You never struck me as the kind of person to have a sweet tooth.”

“And the number of sugar cubes I had in my tea didn’t strike you as suspicious at all?” Edelgard asks as she wipes her mouth with a small cloth.

“It did, but not nearly as much as the empty platter here,” Dimitri replies as he points his thumb at the tiered platter in question.

“Well,” Edelgard begins as she stands from her seat, “If we do this again, you know what to bring then.”

“Of course,” Dimitri says as he stands from his chair as well, “I just hope whatever Claude has planned for that meeting today doesn’t involve the risk of expulsion once the Rite of Rebirth is here.”

“I certainly hope so as well,” Edelgard says as they depart the tea garden. 

\--------------

Hanneman is walking down an empty hall leading to his office with a few new pieces of equipment. One is a new microscope that had shipped from Almyra; he had a firm belief it could help with his crest research. The other is a replacement lense for the crest analyzer. One of the more accident prone servants had damaged the original and he had to commission a new specially made lense with a multitude of enchantments for it to even work properly. It cost him a fair amount in savings, but for his research, it will certainly be worth it. 

As he walks, however, he hears a loud crash in the infirmary, as well as a frustrated scream from Manuela inside. He dares to peek inside, and finds the floor covered with many pieces of now damaged and broken equipment, a sizable spill of a mystery liquid, and a broken desk which it all used to sit on. He sees Manuela standing over the mess with her head in her hands and he can hear her sniffling slightly. 

“What happened?” Hanneman asks calmly. 

Manuela looks up at her fellow professor, and Hanneman notices her mascara running as tears roll down her cheek. “I was…*sniff*... I was doing some research on… on some new potions I had when my desk… it j-just fell apart.” Hanneman gently places his own equipment on the ground as he approaches Manuela to console her. 

“Calm down,” he says gently, “It’s nothing to get distraught over. If you want, I can help clean this mess with you.” Manuela nods her head as she wipes her tears from her eyes, and they set about sweeping the broken glass and mopping the apparent potion liquid off the ground. A servant, who had also heard the commotion, was sent out to get a replacement desk for Manuela as the now broken one is inspected by Hanneman. “It looks like this leg was rotting,” he says as he holds the broken leg, “It was only a matter of time before this happened.”

“But I’ve only had this desk for a few years, and it was new when I got it. How could it have rotted so fast?” Manuela asks, now more composed, as she sweeps some of the broken glass. 

“It was most likely a defect when it was purchased,” Hanneman says, “The rot is inside the leg. The carpenter who built this must not have noticed.”

Manuela sighs heavily as she says, “I can replace a desk easily, but my equipment will cost a fortune. Do you know how many beakers and flasks I’ve lost? On top of that, I’ve lost my microscope,” she hefts the dented piece of equipment in question, “What am I supposed to do now?” 

“Well…” Hanneman looks between her broken microscope and his new one, “I just got one from Almyra. I suppose I  _ could  _ let you borrow it, under a few conditions.”

“You will?” Manuela asks, surprised by his offer. 

“Let me finish,” Hanneman says as he stands up, “First, you need to rein in your drinking.” 

Manuela balks at Hanneman’s suggestion, “Excuse me?!” 

Hanneman, however, continues, “Second, you need to stop trying to bed every man you see. And last, you need to keep your room clean. I shouldn’t have to negotiate this with a grown woman, but you are both my colleague and a friend I am concerned about. If you keep up your habits as they stand now, eventually, you may end up homeless, jobless, moneyless, and with an extra mouth to feed if you’re not careful.”

“I am careful,” Manuela counters, “I have a special tea blend that can keep me safe from any unwanted pregnancy.”

“And have you been able to test it?” Hanneman responds as he crosses his arms. Manuela looks away shyly while Hanneman just nods curtly and says, “That’s what I thought. Why take the risk if it’s not even worth it in the first place?”

“Because… uh, I…,” Manuela struggles to form a coherent answer before shrugging her shoulders in defeat, “I don’t know. All I wanted was to find someone to take care of me when I grow old and my appearance fades.”

“That’s a rather narrow mindset for someone whose faith magic has earned them a solid reputation among their peers,” Hanneman says, “Don’t sell yourself short  _ to  _ yourself. You have already proven to be worth more than just a prize for some noble bastard who thinks only of himself.”

“You really think so?” Manuela asks, not used to earning praise from Hanneman. 

“You remember the knights we had to save,” Hanneman says, “Were it not for your aptitude with faith magic, I doubt even half of them would still be here.” Manuela looks away as Hanneman approaches the former songstress. “Listen, you are a brilliant woman. I can say that with certainty. Don’t ruin yourself with alcohol and men.” 

Manuela nods her head as they hear a few servants enter the room with a replacement desk for her. “Found this spare in a storage closet,” the lead servant says, “I checked it to make sure it is sturdy.” Hanneman notes several footprints on the top of the desk, but says nothing of it. 

“Thank you,” Manuela says humbly, “Just put it over by the window for now. I still have to finish cleaning in here.” The servants do as they were told and move the replacement desk to the window. 

Hanneman just nods at them as they leave before turning back to Manuela, “Well, are you going to agree to my terms?” 

Manuela bites her lip in contemplation and says, “I need time, but…” she closes her eyes for a brief moment before looking back at Hanneman with a serious expression, “I’ll try my best.”

Hanneman just simply nods at her before collecting his new crest analyzer lense and says, “Thank you,” before leaving, his microscope left by the door for Manuela to use. 

\--------------

Anna couldn’t have been happier. After canceling their date to tend to the injured knights and taking time to grieve those lost, Anna and John had agreed to reschedule it to today, and they have been enjoying each other’s company since dawn. This is also the first time Anna saw John’s face without a helmet on. His hair is cut short, largely to keep with the guard’s regulations, its color a pale brown with a distinct blond streak on his left side which he claimed was a birthmark. His eyes, now visible without the helm, are a light auburn, portraying immense joy and frivolity, befitting his personality. 

Right now, Anna clings tightly to John's arm as they venture deeper into the town, saying, “I wonder if the tavern’s busy.”

“Not at this time,” John states, “It usually picks up around five, maybe six if it’s not busy today.”

“Well,” Anna says as she almost drags John, “What are we waiting for?” She holds John’s arm as they jog through the street. They arrive at the tavern in question to find it expectedly empty. The owner just waves nonchalantly at them as they enter. 

“Lookin’ fer somethin’,” the tavern owner asks from behind the bar. 

“A couple drinks and some food?’ John asks as they approach the bar. 

“Drinks, yes,” the owner says, “But food won’t be available ‘till later. Waitin’ fer them academy kids to finish their… eh ‘meetin’’ as they called it.” 

“Meeting?” Anna asks with curiosity in her eyes.

“Can’t say fer sure,” the owner says, “But they seemed quite eager ‘bout it.”

Anna looks at John with a hint of mischief in her eyes before telling the owner, “I’ll just take a cider please.”

“Uh… whatever house beer you have,” John says with slight worry in his eyes. The owner eyes Anna cautiously before he makes their drinks. The owner steps behind a wall for something while Anna and John enjoy the drinks they were given. As they drink, though, a few students enter the tavern, and walk past them without batting an eye. Anna, curious as to what they are up to, steps away from the bar with her drink in her hand, leaving several coins on the counter. John looks between Anna and the wall before following her, also taking his drink and leaving his payment. They discreetly follow the trio of students as they step through a door, and they can hear what sounds like a woman shouting at someone. 

“Next time you need anything baked, give me at least three days warning!” The woman in question sounded livid as the door closed, which only peaks Anna’s curiosity more. 

“Should we?” She throws John a playfully evil look, which causes him to shudder slightly before nodding timidly. They step quietly to the door and press their ears against it, trying desperately to listen to the conversations inside. 

\--------------

“Next time you need anything baked, give me at least three days warning!” Mercedes shouts as she glares resentfully at Claude. Annette has an equally rueful glare as she stands behind Mercedes, while Bernadetta just stands awkwardly behind them both. 

“Sorry,” Claude says between stuttering teeth, “I know nothing about baking and I figured you all could handle it.”

“Regardless,” Byleth says while holding a half eaten fruit tart, “This is really good. Thank you.” In fact, almost all the students present had pure bliss plastered on their faces from the tarts, cookies, and muffins that had been made. The remaining students who just arrived, namely Ingrid, Marianne, and Hilda, quickly grab some of the treats in question once their eyes land on them, their faces melting into pure bliss as the flavors dance in their mouths. Unfortunately, only one wasn’t able to enjoy it the same way, but, even though he couldn’t taste the flavor of the muffin, Dimitri could tell an immense amount of panicked passion was put into it, much the same way Flayn put her passion into the fish cakes everyone else seemed to hate. 

“Alright,” Claude says once he gets away from the jaded women, “It seems everyone is here so we can begin.” 

“I just hope whatever scheme you have this time doesn’t get us in trouble, Claude,” Lorenz says with a sigh. 

“Let’s just make this quick,” says Linhardt, “I’m usually taking a nap at this time.”

“You take a nap at all times,” Casper teases as he takes a seat, “I’m surprised you can even function with how much you sleep.”

“Let’s save that for another time,” Claude interrupts, “We have a very important matter to discuss, and I brought Teach along to help with strategizing. Now,” he stands on top of a box so he can be visible to everyone, “The Rite of Rebirth. Everyone knows about the letter, right?” He gets a round of confirmation from his fellow classmates, “Ok. Here’s the thing; if this assassination plot is meant to be kept secret, why would the letter exist in the first place?”

Everyone whispers among themselves before Dimitri asks, “To misdirect us?” 

“Exactly,” Claude says as he points to Dimitri, “We don’t know what they truly want, but I don’t think they expect us be stupid. They will likely attack or defend themselves with heavy armaments if they go forward with whatever they have planned. Here’s the question I pose to you all. What do they really want, and what are they willing to expend to get what they want?” 

All the students start discussing and theorizing what the Western Church could possibly want to do, and come to several conclusions. Ingrid raises her hand and Claude nods at her to begin, “Perhaps they might raid the armory for weapons?”

“Unlikely,” Edelgard says, “There is nothing in that armory worth raiding the Church for.”

“There’s Thunderbrand,” Lorenz points out, “They could be after that.”

“But Catherine will be active during the Rite, meaning she will be inseparable from the relegation-er, relic,” Petra states, “I highly doubt the Western Church would be able to get their hands on it if they wanted to.”

“That,” Claude adds, “And the armory will be empty as we will also be active during the Rite. Raiding the armory would be the same as raiding a desert for water. It’s pointless.”

The students go quiet as they mull over any other possible theories before Ignatz says, “Well, why would they call out the Rite of Rebirth specifically?”

Raphael turns to the young boy and asks, “What do you mean?”

“Think about it,” Ignatz begins, “A real assassination plot would not need a specific day unless it were to stir as much chaos as possible. Most plots are made to look spur-of-the-moment or even accidental. Given how lax security has been at the monastery for the last several months, any disguised servant would have had no problem pulling a knife on the Archbishop and doing the deed with little difficulty. There has to be something either going on or open during the Rite that wouldn’t normally be open during the rest of the year.”

“Oh,” Lysithea exclaims, “Cyril told me about that. He said that the Goddess tower and the Holy Mausoleum would both be open during the ceremony.”

“She’s right,” Ashe adds, “But if I’m not mistaken, the Archbishop will be spending most of her time in the Goddess Tower for the actual Rite itself. Meaning that the only logical option is the Holy Mausoleum, where Saint Seiros is interred.”

“Of course,” Mercedes says as clarity fills her eyes, “Could you just imagine the uproar if the body of the Saint herself was stolen from the Church. I’d imagine the Archbishop would go absolutely berserk to have it reclaimed.” The students take in Mercedes’ theory and all nod in agreement at this discovery. 

“There is one problem though,” Lysithea states, “I’ve done research on the Mausoleum itself, and from what I’ve read, as part of her interment, the Saint requested her tomb be sealed with a spell as opposed to a natural sealant. To actually get into the tomb would be impossible.”

“Um…” Marianne says quietly, which somehow gets everyone’s attention, causing her to clam up for a minute before continuing, “Uh… can’t most seal spells be… broken though?” 

“Not this one from what I’ve read,” Lysithea states.

“Actually, not true,” Hubert contests, “That seal may have, at one point, been unbreakable, but you must consider just how long it has been since the Saint’s passing. The seal will likely have weakened enough that, if met with a sufficiently powerful mage, could be broken if given enough time and energy.”

“He’s right,” Annette confirms, “We saw the mages in Gaspard. If they can produce a fog bank that thick with only three mages consistently, who knows just how powerful some of their other mages might be.”

“I seriously doubt they are going to send in just a bunch of mages,” Leonie says, “If anything, they are going to send them in with a number of other soldiers as well.” 

“But how could they get in?” Raphael asks, “Won’t the Church be on high alert during the Rite anyway?”

“I think that’s the point,” Byleth says, drawing everyone’s attention, “They want us to be on high alert and focus on protecting the Archbishop. Claude’s right, though, they are not assuming us to be stupid and believe the letter wholeheartedly. They will likely be armed and dangerous.” 

“But the question still stands,” Felix says, “How could they possibly get in?”

“Teleportation,” Edelgard says almost immediately. Everyone looks at the princess as she continues, “Such spells do exist. I’ve seen it used before. They don’t need their entire force to enter through the main gate, only a few high level mages. They’ll be able to get into the Mausoleum silently and have a few keep lookout as the rest perform the spell to summon, not an army, but a well armed strike force to protect them as they focus their efforts on breaking the seal.”

“In that case,” Ferdinand says, “How would we go about preparing for their arrival?”

“The same way we always prepare for a mission,” Casper says as he stands at his chair, “We train, we practice, and we train.”

Linhardt just buries his face in his hands and says, “You said ‘train’ twice.”

“He’s not wrong, though,” Byleth says, “There isn’t too much we can do to prepare for a confrontation like this. Training will at least give us an edge in our overall strength, but we simply don’t know what we will be up against. Here’s what we can safely assume. The Mausoleum will be a rather tight space for a fight, so range isn’t our friend. We should put most of our time and effort into close combat practice until the Rite arrives.”

“And what about when the day arrives?” Sylvain asks, “How can we confront the infiltrators if we have to keep the Archbishop safe?”

“Not all of us will be assigned to keeping up with the Archbishop,” Byleth says, “Most of us will likely be assigned to different areas of the Monastery once the Rite of Rebirth begins. We need to plan around the possibility that only a handful of us will even be able to confront the infiltrators.”

“Speaking of the infiltrators,” Dimitri says, “How will we know that they’ve entered the Monastery?” 

Suddenly, the door slams open as a red haired woman steps through while saying, “Leave that to me!” with a confident smile, causing everyone in the room to jump back with fear. A rather timid man looks over the woman’s shoulder as she continues, “My stall is set up right next to the gate, and I have John here who will be manning the gate as well. No one will be getting in or out without at least me or him knowing.” 

“Anna,” Byleth says with a flat, emotionless voice, “How long have you been listening to us?”

“Ever since the one woman was screaming about the troubles of baking,” Anna confirms with a sly grin, which causes Mercedes to blush with embarrassment slightly, “As I said, John and I will be right next to the gate the entire time. I just need one or two of the students to be at the stall while this is happening.”

“Unlikely,” Claude says, “All of us will probably be in the Chapel during the Rite of Rebirth, and they will be stringent about who can or can’t enter it because of the apparent assassination plot.”

“I have an idea,” Lysithea says, “I think I might be able to rope Cyril into helping us.”

“How can he be of any help?” Leonie asks with a rather rude tone. 

“He’s the Archbishop’s personal servant,” Lysithea says, “He will be able to enter and exit the Chapel freely and still have free reign over the monastery grounds. Besides, he owes me.” 

“Oh, and what could it be for?” Dorothea asks curiously. 

“That is none of your business,” Lysithea says as she glares into Dorothea’s eyes. 

“That’s enough you two,” Claude says, “Save the gossip for later. Now, we will certainly need to have eyes on these mages once they arrive, and we also need to find a way to confront them without stirring trouble.”

“Leave the eyes to me,” Byleth says, “I think I can afford to hire one of my father’s mercenaries for the day to keep tabs on them once they’re here.” In truth, Sothis would keep an eye on them, but only Byleth and Edelgard knew this. “If Cyril is willing to cooperate, just have him report to me directly so as to avoid stirring suspicion.”

“Alright,” Lysithea says, “But how do we confront them?”

“I’d say our best option is the worst case scenario,” Dedue says, “We face them in the Mausoleum. We can have a few of us stand guard at the entrance to make sure no one enters or leaves during the ensuing battle.”

“In that case though,” Raphael says, “We may need someone to act as a distraction.”

“The Rite of Rebirth is already a distraction,” Dimitri states, “While the tomb may be a good place to pray, the Rite itself only lasts for so long. The Holy Mausoleum will be open for the entire day. I am more than willing to bet that, once the Archbishop has entered the Goddess Tower to begin the Rite, the infiltrators will take the opportunity to enter the Mausoleum and do whatever they've set about planning.”

“Ok,” Byleth says, “But we still need a few students to stay by Rhea and the other guards during the Rite. That way, there will be lower suspicions, and we can do what we need to take care of the infiltrating mages.”

“I’ll do it,” Linhardt volunteers.

“As will I,” Ignatz says, “I’ve never actually seen the Rite of Rebirth for myself, so I guess it’s a win-win.”

“I just don’t want to go through the hassle of a fight,” Linhardt says as he yawns. 

“Thanks for your honesty,” Edelgard says with a fair amount of sarcasm. 

“That’s settled then,” Claude announces, “Anna, John, you two will keep watch over the gate until the mages arrive, and hopefully Cyril will be willing to cooperate with us and report to Teach once they’re here. Teach will have someone keep lookout until they enter the Chapel. Once they enter the Mausoleum, we will follow them in. Dedue, Raphael, how would you two feel about keeping watch on the entrance?”

“It won’t be a problem,” Dedue says calmly. 

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Raphael replies readily. 

“Alright,” Claude nods as he continues, “Linhardt and Ignatz will stay by the Archbishop once the Rite begins and the rest of us will be in for a fight.”

“Remember everyone,” Byleth warns, “We won’t have time to get a proper battle plan together once the fighting begins. Once we enter the Mausoleum, have your weapons ready and listen for orders from your house leaders or me. We might not have a chance to discuss this again once we return to the monastery, so if you have any questions, ask them now or come see me in private later.” 

After being met with no questions, Byleth and Claude nod to each other and they all begin leaving the room to prepare themselves for, what Claude officially called, Operation Good At Being Bad, which just earned him a slap to the back of his head from Byleth for poor mission titling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor mission titles aside, I hope you all enjoyed this heist-style meeting I threw together. What better way to protect the Church than to do it with no one finding out before hand.   
> Also, heads up as this only just happened, there might be a disruption in my upload schedule as I am getting ready to move, so fair warning. Hope you all still enjoy the madness, because my life will soon become mad. Take care.


	14. Invaders Must Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Invaders Must Die!"-The Prodigy  
> (OK, it was either this, or "We are the Prodigy". It's not a lyric heavy song. Also, please listen to it before reading as it really fits this chapter.)

_ Edelgard finds herself standing in a familiar field of roses, sunflowers, and blue tulips, facing the never ending horizon. She turns around to see if Enbarr’s palace is still there, but instead, she finds a different palace, one that she barely recognizes. There is a strange sense of familiarity with it, like she had been to this exact palace before, but can’t remember when, nor where. ‘It’s not Adrestian, that’s for sure. But I know I’ve been there before.’ She attempts to approach this structure, but again, it seems to stay just out of reach, and this time, she doesn’t hear the young boy’s voice. She turns around and decides to approach the horizon, hoping to find something.  _

_ After what seemed like hours of walking, she finally spots a lone figure standing on the horizon. Their back is currently turned towards her, and she sees that their head is covered with straight, blond hair. ‘Have I seen you before?’ She attempts to call to the figure, but her voice fails her, and only silence comes forth from her mouth. But the figure seemed to react to the silent call, and began to turn to Edelgard. However, as they turn, she hears the distinct footfalls of an approaching army, and she begins looking around herself in a panic, until a booming voice erupts from the sky, and shouts… _

**_“Into the motherland, the German army march!”_ **

**** Edelgard shoots up in her bed as drums and guitars blare loudly in her head. She quickly looks around her room as reality sets in, and she buries her head in her hands while saying with an exasperated voice, “For fucks sake, Sothis! Really?!”

“Come on, Edelgard,” the remorseless Goddess says, “It’s the Rite of Rebirth and we need to be up and ready for the day, so let’s move it!” 

“I never asked for a wake up call like this though!” Edelgard grumbles loudly with seething anger. She peeks out her window to find the landscape before her awash with red, and she does what she can to calm herself as Sothis speaks again.

“Well, if you must know, I’m not the one who made the call. Byleth wants to talk to you before we start setting up for the Rite.”

“What does she need to discuss?” Edelgard asks as she quickly removes her nightgown and puts on her undergarments and stockings. 

“Just going over some final planning for the so-called ‘Operation Good At Being Bad’. She’s getting Claude and Dimitri as we speak, so you’d best hurry.” 

“*Sigh* Very well,” Edelgard says as she secured her coveralls. She reaches for her jacket as the phantom music continues.

**_“_ The end of the Third Reich draws near…”**

“Please stop the music, Sothis. I don’t need the distraction,” Edelgard says tiredly as she buttons her cape to her jacket. 

The music abruptly comes to an end as Sothis huffs, “Why don’t you or Byleth like Sabaton? They’re amazing.”

“Because you always play it at inappropriate times,” Edelgard says while fixing her hair, “It is always either a wake up call, or when we need to focus on studying, or in Byleth’s case, lesson planning.” 

“Agh,” Sothis says, exasperated, “What do you both have to be so difficult.”

“It’s not that we’re difficult,” Edelgard says as she slips in her shoes, “We just have our own responsibilities to attend to and we don’t need to be distracted by some guy shouting about some lost battalion in… what was it? The Argon? Not that it matters, though.”

Edelgard hears Sothis sigh gently in defeat before the Goddess says, “You know, I can’t help but notice that you’ve been getting restless in your sleep recently.”

“Yeah,” Edelgard confirms as she puts on her gloves, “Ever since you pulled me into your ‘throne space’ the first time, I’ve been having a recurring dream lately.”

“Go on,” Sothis encourages. 

“Well,” Edelgard begins, “I find myself in a vast open field filled with flowers, and in one direction it’s just an unending horizon. Then, when I turn around, I usually find Enbarr’s palace. Last night it was a different palace, but I couldn’t tell which one it could be. I never seem to be alone, though. I always hear what I assume to be a young boy calling to me. Last night, I think I actually saw the boy.”

“Describe him,” Sothis requests. 

Edelgard stands up and says, “Well, I couldn’t tell his height from the distance I saw him, but I could tell that he had straight blond hair. I couldn’t see his face though.”

“Straight blond hair,” Sothis muses, “How straight are we talking?”

“About as straight as mine, but cut short at the neck,” Edelgard confirms, “Does it seem familiar to you at all?”

“Not really,” Sothis says, “What about you?”

“Hmmmm,” Edelgard holds her chin as she contemplates if she had seen this child before. ‘We must’ve met before. Maybe at the palace I saw las-,”

\--------------

_ “...to cut your own path…” _

\--------------

Edelgard feels an intense migraine rip through her skull, making her grab her head as she collapses to one knee. 

“Edie!” Sothis shouts in a panic. Edelgard feels her get closer as her sudden headache subsided almost as quickly as it manifested. “Are you ok?” The panicked Goddess asks. 

“I… I’m fine,” Edelgard says as she pulls herself to her feet, “And what did I say about calling me ‘Edie’.”

“Hey,” Sothis says, irritated, “I panicked because I thought you were hurt.” Sothis backs away with a harrumph and says in a barely audible whisper, “Stubborn princess.”

Edelgard retaliates with a whisper of her own, “Idiot Goddess.” Sothis gasps with indignation before both she and Edelgard burst with gentle laughter at their given nicknames for each other. 

“Have we really gotten so far as to call each other demeaning nicknames and laugh about it?” Sothis asks once she calms down. 

“Certainly seems like it,” Edelgard replies, “Go on ahead and let Byleth know I’m up. I’d rather not have Dimitri and Claude think the Professor and I have something going on between us.”

“Ok,” Sothis says, though before she leaves, she adds, “One more thing, they are both already on to you.” With that, Edelgard just holds her head with her hand as Sothis departs. 

Once she no longer senses Sothis, Edelgard sits in her chair. ‘What the Hell was that?’ She had never had a flashback like that before. Any memories of her past always came as night terrors, and it always came back to her time in captivity. So why did those five words, ‘To cut your own path,’ suddenly manifest, and why did it hurt so much to remember? 

‘To cut your own path…’ Edelgard looks at her drawer. ‘Could…could it really,’ She hesitantly opens her drawer to find the silver dagger she had had since…

\--------------

_ She reaches out to take the dagger from… _

\--------------

Edelgard grasps her head as another searing migraine crushes her head. And as soon as the pain arrives though, it’s gone, but she still holds her head in her hands, not daring to look in her drawer again. She hastily pushes it shut and backs away from it, fearing the contents that sit within. 

Edelgard jumps slightly when she hears a knocking at her door, the voice saying, “Hey Edelgard, are you ready?”

She takes a deep, calming breath before approaching and opening the door, finding Byleth, Dimitri, and Claude on the other side waiting, “Yes, Professor. I’m ready.”

Byleth just nods and says, “Good. I’m sorry for the early wake up but we have permission to visit the Holy Mausoleum before they open the gates today, and I want to explore it a bit to figure out our strategies.”

“I see,” Edelgard says as she steps out of her room and closes the door, “Lead the way then.”

\--------------

Byleth and the trio of house leaders enter the dark, but surprisingly welcoming Holy Mausoleum as a number of priests and nuns rush about clearing the crypt of cobwebs, dead rodents, and insects that have taken residence within. 

“You would think they keep up with maintenance throughout the year here, right?” Claude observes as he watches the cacophony unfold before him. 

“The Mausoleum is sealed at all times during the year,” Dimitri states, “It’s considered sacrilege to enter the tomb unless it’s during the Rite of Rebirth.”

“If I’m honest,” Edelgard says, “I wasn’t expecting it to be so… open. I would’ve thought that the Mausoleum would at least have the tombs of all the Saints in here.”

“That’s because the other Saints went missing after Saint Seiros’ passing,” says Seteth as he approaches them, “According to ancient records, the Saints had departed so they could grieve the loss of Saint Seiros, but they never returned from their journey. It is generally accepted that they had passed away during their journey and are now resting at peace with Saint Seiros in the afterlife.”

“I see,” Edelgard says with uncertainty in her voice. 

“Well, I do believe it would be a treat to actually see the tomb itself before we have to return to our duties for the day,” Byleth says, “Besides, this could very well be a once in a lifetime experience for some of the students.”

Byleth sees Seteth smile for once as he says, “Of course. Hence the reason I brought you and the house leaders down here in the first place. If you would follow me, please.” Seteth is alarmingly pleasant in Byleth’s opinion, but figures he is simply practicing for when pilgrims and visitors are touring the monastery. 

Byleth and the house leaders follow Seteth deeper into the Mausoleum as they approach the imposing Tomb of Saint Serios. A pair of monks are currently dusting and cleaning the tomb itself whilst repeatedly offering prayers of forgiveness to the tomb. To Byleth, it seemed quite comical, and the house leaders also thought the same. 

“Isn’t it a bit excessive to pray for forgiveness for cleaning the tomb?” Claude asks. 

“It’s considered sacrilege to touch the tomb and all who do must ask for forgiveness in doing so,” Seteth says, his forced smile nowhere to be seen, “Some theories also suggest that the spell used to seal the tomb also places a curse on those who intend to desecrate it. While I am not convinced that such a curse exists, the prayers themselves are a sign of honor to the Saint more than anything. Besides, the Mausoleum is only open once a year, so the monks are likely praying for prayers sake at this point rather than seeking forgiveness.”

“The latter theory seems more plausible,” Edelgard states. They all approach the tomb and take in the sight of the Saint’s final resting place. ‘Well, where the Sword of the Creator sits at least,’ Byleth thinks to herself. 

“Hmph,” Byleth hears Sothis say, bemused, “Just wait until we get our hands on the Sword again,” Byleth briefly looks over at Edelgard, and she doesn’t seem to react to Sothis’ statement. Sensing her sudden discomfort, Sothis says, “So long as I’m in your head, she can’t hear me.” Byleth takes a steady breath after being told this. 

“To think,” Dimitri says with mute amazement, “Nearly one thousand years have passed since her passing, and we have the privilege of standing right next to her.” 

‘Oh, if only you knew,’ Byleth thinks to herself. 

“Now then,” Seteth says, drawing the attention of everyone else, “I will be bringing the rest of the students down here soon, and I am giving you all a moment to pray if you wish. But once you all are finished, please return to your assigned duties as we will be opening the gates at the end of the current hour.” When he finishes speaking, Seteth begins walking down the Mausoleum and up the stairs to retrieve the rest of the students. 

Byleth quickly looks around and spots the remaining monks and nuns leaving as well, and quietly whispers, “Ok, if you want to pray, go ahead, but once you are done, do what you can to explore the Mausoleum.” The house leaders all nod before Dimitri and Edelgard both kneel before the tomb together, much to Byleth and Claude’s surprise. The two royals briefly glance at each other before they both turn a bright shade of red once they realize what has happened, though Byleth and Claude fail to notice. 

“I want to do something real quick,” Sothis says, and Byleth wonders what the Goddess could be up to. For Edelgard, though, she senses Sothis sitting herself upon the tomb, and could feel a somewhat smug energy emit from the wayward spirit. Although irritated, Edelgard simply kneels silently before the throne as if in prayer, though she doesn’t say anything. Beside her, though, Dimitri sounded like he couldn’t say enough in his prayer. While she couldn’t perfectly hear what he says, Edelgard could tell he was having some very disturbing nightmares recently and wanted the Goddess to help in any way she could. 

Edelgard stands up first and Dimitri quickly follows. They both look at each other and nod before turning back to Byleth and Claude. “Well,” Dimitri says, “Aren’t you two going to…”

“Well Teach,” Claude says with a sly grin, “Care to join me?”

Byleth just smiles and nods at Claude before they both kneel before the tomb and offer their prayers. Well, Claude offers a prayer for the upcoming battle to go well, while Byleth offers a silent prayer that Sothis would knock it off with the obnoxious musical wake up calls already. 

Behind them, Edelgard and Dimitri begin exploring the layout of the Mausoleum, finding a few concerning choke points and possible traps that the suspected intruders could use to their advantage. After several minutes, the three house leaders and Byleth gather together to compare their notes. 

“There are multiple halls that lead to the tomb itself, and each one could become a possible choke point if we aren’t careful,” Edelgard says. 

“The mages could also lay some nasty traps before we get to them,” Dimitri adds. 

“What’s worse,” Claude says, “Is that there are a lot of points of cover with the pillars that support this place. You weren’t kidding when you said range isn’t our friend here, Teach.”

“But that doesn't mean range isn’t an option,” Byleth says, “We just need to pick our targets well and shoot wisely.” They all suddenly hear a cacophony of footsteps descending the stairs as well as the voices of their friends, “For now, let’s focus on our assignments until the mages get here. Once they’re down here, we can finish building our strategy.” 

\--------------

The market square is absolutely alive with activity as pilgrims filter through the superbly decorated gate. Anna scratches the back of her head nervously, trying her hardest to discern just who could be coming through. ‘Shit, with this many people, I may not spot them in time.’ 

Just then, luckily, she spots a group of black robed individuals being checked in by John. He takes a few minutes to share a few words with them before allowing them to enter, and they hastily enter the market square, dispersing themselves into the crowd. Anna turns her head back to John and he nods at her, which she interprets as confirmation of the intruder's arrival. She places a small ‘closed’ sign on her stall before leaving the square and arriving at the rather quiet garden. There, she finds the somewhat reluctant Cyril standing next to the tea table, giving it a good scrubbing. 

“Hey, Cyril,” Anna says in a quiet voice.

He quickly turns to her and leans forward while whispering, “Are they here?”

“Yes, but there’s a problem,” she says in a whisper, “There are about six of them and they all dispersed into the crowd. We lost track of them a little too quickly and we suspect there might be a few decoys among them.”

“Shoot,” Cyril says, “I’ll let the Professor know.” The young boy takes off for the Chapel as Anna stands to leave, but when she turns, she is greeted by one of the black robed individuals. 

“I’m sorry,” Anna quickly states with mock fear in her eyes, “I must’ve gotten turned around while looking for the dining hall. I’d best be going now.” 

She tries to leave the garden, but as she passes the man, he grabs onto her arm and pulls a dagger from his belt. He steps behind her as she freezes while he places the dagger against her back. 

“You know too much, young lady,” he says, “Don’t think we didn’t spot you and your friend at the gate watching us. I’m sure our benefactors would love to get their hands on you.”

Anna simply smirks and says, “Well, obviously you don’t know enough.” She quickly brings her foot up and smashes it against her captors shin, hard enough that a crack is audible. The man lets out a surprised yelp and lets go of Anna’s arm. She then grabs the man's dagger wielding arm and twists it violently, forcing his grip to loosen and allowing the weapon to fall to the floor. She brings her arm up and strikes the man’s elbow, breaking the arm. Before he can scream in pain, she covers his mouth and forces him to the ground. She then whispers, “I have spent a lot of my life traveling, sometimes with the very worst that humanity can produce. You are nothing.” He then brings her fist up and smashes it against the poor man's temple, bursting the blood vessel and knocking him out. 

Anna stands up and quietly casts a healing spell on the man’s head to avoid having him die too soon. Then, she lifts him onto a nearby chair and ties him up, and writes a small note for the guards who will likely pick him up later. It simply reads, ‘This man tried to attack me, but I was able to escape. If anyone finds this, please have him locked up before he comes to. Many thanks, Anna ;)’ 

After adjusting her clothing, she prepares to leave the garden when she spots the man’s dagger on the ground. She picks it up and finds the blade to be coated in a disturbingly dark aura. She tilts her head curiously and inspects the blade closer before realizing just what she had in her hands. “Oh shit,” she whispers in pure fear, “I need to get this to Byleth.” She discreetly stows the deadly weapon in her bag before returning to the still bustling market square. 

\--------------

“Damn,” Sothis says while floating above the gardens, “She’s good.” Sothis takes one last look at the hooded man before taking off back to the chapel to report to Byleth. She sees her friend standing by the Chapel’s doors, talking to Cyril. The young boy seems to nod before entering the Chapel itself when Sothis approaches. “What’s the status?”

Byleth is barely audible as she speaks, “There are about six of them, there are likely decoys and Cyril is fearing for his life. How’s Anna?”

“Well, the number is now officially five since Anna took out one of them with only a kick, an elbow, and a punch,” Sothis says with admiration in her voice, “I don’t know about you, but I like her.” 

“Well, keep lookout for the other five, then,” Byleth says quietly, “We need to keep track of them at all times.” 

“Roger that,” Sothis says as she darts back to the monastery grounds, leaving a somewhat bewildered Byleth behind her. 

“I really need to stop with the Earth colloquialisms,” Sothis says to herself as she spots another black robed man. She discreetly follows him as he walks down the hall to the training arena. Once there, he takes a look around and finds a few priests standing by a pillar and approaches them. 

“Is everything set?” He asks.

“Yes,” the lead priest says, “The Rite is set to start once the demon finishes her sermon at noon. When it begins, you will have about one hour to finish what you need to do in the Mausoleum.”

“Very well,” the robed man says, “Your loyalty will be rewarded once the tomb is unsealed, brother Eric. Just keep in mind that, once the ritual is complete, we will have to depart immediately, so keep yourself hidden at all times until then.” 

“Yes, and thank you,” the priest named Eric takes a deep bow and says, “May the Goddess shine upon us this day and guide us to victory.”

“Oh, how I damn each and every one of you to the deepest pits of Hell,” Sothis says with anger present in her voice. The robed man leaves the training grounds and ventures to the bridge that leads to the chapel. Sothis darts over to Byleth and says, “The guy with the black robe. See him?”

“Yeah, the tall one?” Byleth asks. 

“Yup, that’s our guy,” Sothis confirms. 

“Ok,” Byleth whispers back, “Keep tabs on the others.”

“Affirm,” Sothis says as she heads back out.

Sothis crosses the bridge and finds another black robed man ascending the nearby stairs. She follows the man as he turns down toward the library, and she notices him pulling out what appears to be a plague mask and affixing it to his face. “Well, aren’t you the bold one,” Sothis says as she follows him into the library where only the librarian, Tomas, remains. 

She darts around the corner and perches on the upper level and observes the conversation taking place. 

The man locks the door behind him as a pale flame engulfed him, his robes replaced by black armor and a pointed hood, his plague mask unchanged. “Master Solon,” he says, “It has certainly been some time since we last met face to face.”

“Indeed, Odesse,” Tomas says as he transforms into Solon, “Are the mages ready?”

”Yes they are. I should also add that students have certainly impressed those at Shambhala,” the man named Odesse says, “They even placed a couple of lookouts at the gate for our arrival. Were the mages any wiser, they would’ve seen the one shopkeeper staring a little too closely at us.”

“Not that any of that matters,” Solon states, “So long as the tomb is unsealed, their fate means nothing to us.”

“Oh, of course,” Odesse quickly responds, “I am simply taking note of the students’ progress for when we will eventually face them.”

“And I am sure Lord Thales expects nothing less from you,” Solon says as he transforms back into Tomas, “You’d best leave before we generate any unwanted attention.” 

“Very well,” Odesse says as a flame circles him, “I do expect a report from you once this is over.” The flames erupt into a pillar that engulfs the masked man before dissipating into nothing, not even leaving a scorch on the ground. 

Sothis clicks her tongue and says, “Figures,” as she rolls her eyes before lazily floating out of the library and venturing back to the ground floor where she sees the remaining mages crossing the bridge to the Chapel along with the massive crowd. “This is where the fun begins,” Sothis says as she returns to Byleth. 

\--------------

“And in thy holy name, Amen,” Archbishop Rhea declares before the amassed congregation. The congregation repeats what Rhea had said before filing out the main doors of the Chapel and venturing towards the Goddess Tower for the Rite of Rebirth. Rhea steps down from her pedestal and takes a small goblet of water from Cyril and drinks from it gently. Nearby, Seteth, Linhardt, Ignatz, and a selection of guards stand ready to follow Rhea as she starts walking to the main entrance. 

“Lady Rhea,” Seteth begins, “We have already prepared everything in the Tower for the Rite of Rebirth. We just need to get there.”

“There is no need to rush, Seteth,” Rhea says with a gentle smile, “It is not often that I can greet our followers face to face without the imposing dread that sitting on a throne can bring to those who seek my audience. Also, I have faith in the students and guards in fulfilling their duty of ensuring my safety today.”

Seteth takes a reluctant sigh before saying, “Very well, then. We will follow you.” Rhea simply nods at Seteth as she continues walking towards the doors of the Chapel, everyone failing to notice four black robed men wandering away from them. Almost everyone. 

Petra stands behind a pillar near the Mausoleum’s entrance, her presence hidden to the four mages entering the crypt. She nods as Casper, who is hiding behind another pillar, and he waves his hand at a nonchalant looking Felix and Annette. They pass the signal to their remaining classmates who quietly advance towards the Mausoleum’s entrance.

Byleth closes the door to the Chapel once the last guard leaves, and locks it tightly. She peeks out the window to see everyone outside venturing to the Goddess Tower, and takes a deep breath before joining the students. “Ok,” she says quietly, “Dedue, Raphael, stay here by the entrance. Make sure no one enters until I give the all clear, got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” Dedue and Raphael say in unison. 

“Everyone else, weapons ready. We don’t know what we are waking into, so be ready to defend yourselves,” Byleth says before leading the students down into the Mausoleum. 

\--------------

Deep in the Holy Mausoleum, multiple pillars of flame erupt from the ground, revealing a large number of fierce mercenaries. The lead mage says, “Alright, we can begin properly. You two watch the entrance while I focus on the tomb, and you help me.”

“We seem to be missing one mercenary, though,” another mage observes with a worried tone in his voice. 

“Yeah,” a third mage says, “Didn’t they say some ‘Death Knight’ would join us?”

“He will get here when it’s appropriate,” the lead mage confirms, “Once he arrives, he will worry with the retaliatory force while we make ready to leave. For now, focus o-,”

“SHIT!” One of the lance bearing mercenaries shouts, “It’s the students, they’re here!”

“What?!” The lead mage shouts back, “New plan, get a shield around me. I need to begin the ritual now.” 

“Yes sir,” The fourth mage says as he casts a shield around the leader, “Everyone else, prepare for battle!”

\--------------

Byleth and the students enter the Mausoleum, and are immediately greeted by several fireballs and arrows. Everyone rushes to the cover of the support pillars as Byleth shouts, “Ashe, Claude, Bernadetta, fire back!”

The three students nod in her direction when Edelgard shouts, “Hubert, Dorothea, you do the same!”

“Annette, join them,” Dimitri calls to the young girl. 

“Lysithea, if you’d please,” Claude requests as he notches his first arrow. 

The six students send arrows, explosive spells, balls of lightning, and gusts of wind at the intruding mercenaries, but thanks to the numerous support pillars throughout the Mausoleum, their efforts are only rewarded with a few injuries and one successful kill. A barely audible “I’m sorry,” tells Byleth just who made the kill in question. 

“Did I just hear that right?” Sylvain asks incredulously in Bernadetta’s direction. 

Much to everyone’s surprise, Bernadetta retorts, “Oh, shove it,” with a rather rude tone at Sylvain. The young man stares with pure shock at her as another volley of arrows pelt the pillars they are hiding behind. 

Bernadetta, upon realizing what she said, turns away from Sylvain as her face turns bright red while Hubert looks over at her with mute shock of his own, and mumbles under his breath, “I never thought she had it in her,” before returning his attention back to the ongoing battle at hand. 

“I think a few are advancing,” Claude calls out, “Looks like a trio of lance wielders. Light armor.”

“Edelgard, Hilda, Leonie, take them out!” Byleth calls to the three women. They all take a ready stance behind their pillars as Claude tracks the attacking mercenaries. 

“Now!” he suddenly shouts, and the three women swing their weapons around the pillars, with Edelgard and Leonie striking their targets chests and sending them falling to their backs, leaving deep gashes and broken ribs in their chests. Hilda, though, strikes nothing but air as her target runs behind her. The poor man stops suddenly once he realizes he’s behind his enemies lines, only for a rod of pure dark mana to shoot through his heart, causing him to stiffen up and fall to the ground. 

Lysithea throws an irritated glare at Hilda as the pink haired woman scratches the back of her head with embarrassment. “Really?” The young girl asks with a flat tone. 

“Well, it’s not like I could see him coming,” Hilda retorts. 

“And you couldn’t just peak around the corner?” Lysithea counters. 

“Save it for later,” Byleth commands, “Get ready to advance.”

\--------------

Jeritza stands silently in the cell located under his office, the gentle fire from a nearby torch reflecting off his black armor. He held a skull shaped helmet in his hands as he glared into its vacant eyes, his inner bloodlust already flooding his mind. 

He takes a deep breath as he dons the helm, securing it in place. ‘This must happen. In the name of the Empress, this must happen.’ He looks at himself in the reflection of his scythe, ‘I will not fail you.’ He grabs the scythe and approaches a black armored horse. He strokes its mane for a minute before mounting it, and takes one last look at the cell he is in. 

As he prepares to teleport, one last vision of his sister plays in his mind, and he says, “I will not fail you either, dear sister.”

\--------------

A pillar of black flame erupts near the lead mage, drawing his attention briefly before returning his attention to the tomb in front of him. 

“Well you’re fashionably late!” The mage maintaining the shield shouts at the pillar of flame as a black horse steps out, upon which a man clad in black armor with a skull shaped helmet emerges. 

“I am here,” the Death Knight says with little emotion in his voice, “And you need to learn patients.”

“Well,” the mage says, “The plan’s changed. They knew we were coming. Go to the front and fend them off while we get this thing open.”

“My orders are to observe, not to fight,” the Death Knight responds as he dismounts his horse. 

“What!?” The lead mage exclaims, turning away from the tomb, “We were tol-,” 

The Death Knight brings his scythe to bear and points it at the lead mage, saying with a cruel tone, “You dare defy the will of the Emperor of Flames?”

The lead mage grimaces slightly before returning to his task while the other mage simply backs away from the intimidating Knight. The Death Knight just nods curtly before turning his attention to the central hall, waiting for the right moment to make his move. 

\--------------

“Uh,” says Leonie with fear evident in her voice, “We got another one, down the center hall.” Everyone looks at the black armored knight that had appeared. 

“Lions,” Byleth commands, “Take the left hall, Eagles, take the right. Deer, follow me.” The students obey Byelth’s command as they all venture into the halls assigned while Byleth stares down the knight ahead. ‘Oh, how I’ve waited for this moment.’ 

“By, wait,” Sothis warns, bringing Byleth to a stop which in turn causes her students to fall in behind her, “There are about three traps in this hall. That, and watch yourself with the Death Knight. I don’t think he’s here to fight us.” 

“What makes you think that?” Byleth whispers quietly so her students can’t hear her. 

“Just talk to Edelgard once the fight’s over,” Sothis says, “For now, proceed with caution, and watch for traps.”

“Lysithea,” Byleth calls, bringing the young girl forward, “See if there are any traps down here, but don’t get near them.” The young girl nods as she casts a scanning spell on the hallway. 

“I’m getting two, no three traps. All lethal intent.” Lysithea confirms. “They’re on the walls, but I can disable them easily.”

“Good,” Byleth says, “Leonie, Claude, cover her as she advances. The rest of you, stay on guard and behind me. If that knight up ahead attacks, I’ll face him head on.”

\--------------

“Watch out!” Sylvain calls as he pulls Felix to his side, allowing an arrow to fly past the pair of students. Felix then sprints ahead and swiftly decapitates the archer. Sylvain follows up and jumps over the crouching swordsman and plunges his lance into the chest of an advancing axman, stopping him in his tracks. 

Nearby, Dimitri grabs hold of another swordsman and, with a sadistic grin, throws the poor man across the hall, slamming head first into a wall as a distinct crack is heard from his neck. Dimitri then twirls his lance around himself and impales one of the mages who had crept up on him with a dagger, killing him instantly. 

Annette and Ingrid simply watch as Dimitri loses himself in the bloodshed while Mercedes tends to a deep gash Ashe sustained in his arm behind them. “Was he… always like this?” Annette worriedly asks Ingrid. 

“No,” Ingrid says calmly, “At least, not before the Tragedy.”

“I see,” Annette says as she turns her attention back to the lunatic, lance wielding prince as he brings his weapon down on an already injured mercenary, “When the battles over, remind me to talk to you or Felix about it.”

\--------------

Ferdinand and Dorothea stand back to back as they size up their opponents, a pair of hulking, heavily armored swordsmen. Dorothea has a thundering spell waiting to be unleashed in her off hand while she holds a short-sword in her other, while Ferdinand holds his lance low to the ground, intent on catching his opponent from down low. 

Suddenly, both mercenaries rush the students, bringing their swords high to cut them down. But at the last minute, right as the swords came down, Ferdinand sidesteps swiftly to his right as Dorothea simply swings her sword high, catching her aggressor's sword and parrying it to her right. She shoves her off hand into his chest and unleashes her lightning spell, paralyzing him instantly as he falls forward. Ferdinand also brings his lance up and bounces it off the other man’s sword, causing him to lose his grip as he trips forward. Dorothea calmly steps out from between the two men as they crash into each other, the remnants of Dorothea’s spell coursing through both men’s armor at once. They fall to the ground paralyzed as the two students take in the scenery around them.

Casper has another mercenary under his arm, choking him into unconsciousness while Petra stands behind him with her sword deep in the chest of an unfortunate lance wielder. “Seems you finally returned the favor,” Petra says as she withdraws her blade. 

“You’re still up by one,” Casper says as he lets go of the unconscious soldier, “Give me time.”

Hubert and Bernadetta stand further back, the former counseling the blood covered purple haired girl as she sobs for the most recent kill she made; one of the mages who had gotten too close to her and got his throat violently cut open by her in response. 

Edelgard is further ahead, waiting patiently for the other houses to emerge from their hallways as she watches the Death Knight. Although hidden from the other’s view, the Knight had spotted her instantly, and simply nodded at her as he moved to obscure the view of the seven remaining soldiers from the hallway. She hears her classmates advance behind her and she turns back to them. 

“I checked with Hubert,” Ferdinand says with a whisper, “He’s taking Bernadetta out of here. She’s too shaken up.”

“Let them,” Edelgard says, “I can’t imagine what must be going through her head after that.”

“So…” Dorothea muses as she stares at the massive black armored Knight, “What do we do with him?”

“We wait for the others,” Edelgard says, “The more we have, the better chance of victory.”

“Very well,” Ferdiand says as he hesitantly sizes up the Death Knight, “I have… no complaints.”

\--------------

The Death Knight paced between the halls, taking brief glances down each one to monitor the advancing students. 

“What is he doing?” A swordsman asks the lead mage as the last part of the ritual takes shape.

“Biding his time? I don’t know,” The lead mage answers as his vision is blurred slightly with sweat, “Just keep the students off me.”

Just then, a deranged Dimitri turns the corner of the first hall, his eyes locked on the Death Knight. The seven mercenaries and unoccupied mage ready themselves as more students emerge from the halls, but the young prince charges forward, straight at the Death Knight. 

“Dimitri!” Sylvain calls at the last second, “Snap out of it!” But it reaches him too late. As he brings his lance up to strike the Knight, the Knight steps forward at inhuman speed and catches the prince by his collar, hefting him up, all bloodlust lost in his eyes as he drops his lance in shock. 

“SHIT!” Felix shouts as he rushes forward, but is blocked by a pair of ax-men. 

“Stay back!” One of the men shouts, “Or the boy gets it!” Felix stops in his tracks and stares as Dimitri struggles uselessly in the Knights grasp. 

The remaining students emerge from the remaining halls as the Death Knight steps toward the tomb, holding Dimitri against his chest as he says, “Stay back until the ritual is finished. There is a truth that all of you must see.” 

“Only if you let Dimitri go!” Byleth shouts angrily, grinding her teeth as the soldiers circle the tomb defensively. 

“You are in no position to negotiate,” the unoccupied mage retorts, “Are you nearly finished?” He asks the lead mage. 

Just as he asks, a sudden burst of light emits from the tomb, the lead mage jumping back in surprise, “Wait, that actually worked?!” The students, the mercenaries, and the Death Knight stare at him in confusion as he stammers, “Um… uh… I mean… yes! I knew it would work.”

“You are more useless than I thought you were,” the Death Knight says as he kicks the lid of the sarcophagus off the tomb, revealing…

“Wait,” Dimitri says as he continues to struggle against the Death Knights grasp, “It’s just an old sword?”

“Not just any old sword,” the Death Knight says as his grip on Dimitri loosens, “That is the Sword of the Creator.” This causes everyone to suddenly gasp as this revelation is made. 

“Well,” the lead mage says, “The Western Church can certainly use a relic of this importance, body of Seiros or not. Might as we-,” before he can finish, the Death Knight suddenly grabs the sword from the tomb, allowing Dimitri to escape and retrieve his weapon and join his classmates.

“The Hell?!” The lead mage exclaims as the mercenaries point their weapons at the Death Knight, “What are you doing?!”

The Death Knight simply turns to face Byleth, staring at the sword. He looks up and stares Byleth right in her eyes, her body quaking slightly. They stare at each other for several seconds before the Death Knight simply winks at her, then deftly tosses the sword in her direction, hilt first. Byleth’s eyes suddenly widen once she realizes what’s happening, and she lunges forward for the ancient blade as several mercenaries jump for the blade as well. However, once her hand touches the sword, a bright, blinding light suddenly fills the space near the tomb, catching everyone off guard.

\--------------

Linhardt is bored out of his mind. The Rite of Rebirth is supposed to be one of the most sacred and holy of the Church’s traditions, but he wasn’t expecting what amounts to a prolonged prayer session. Next to him, Ignatz is absolutely fascinated with what is happening before him. Linhardt couldn’t figure out what about the Rite had Ignatz so enraptured, but his exhaustion prevented him from thinking any further. 

However, just as Rhea finished the prayer, a sudden chill rushed through Linhardt, causing him to shudder quite violently. He looks around and finds that several others seem to have been affected by this sudden chill as well, among them Catherine, Jeralt, Seteth, and the Archbishop herself. 

“What was that?” Linhardt asks as he looks around the room.

“What was what?” Ignatz asks in response. Seteth looks at Linhardt briefly before approaching the window. 

“No one outside seems to have felt that,” he observes. 

“I didn’t feel anything,” Shamir says as she looks at Catherine with concern.

Just before she could speak, a guard rushes into the room and says, “I apologize for the intrusion, but something is happening in the Chapel, Captain.”

“Kids, Catherine, Shamir, stay with the Archbishop,” Jeralt orders as he leaves the room. Ignatz and a now alert Linhardt share a concerned look as Rhea collects herself and resumes the Rite. 

\--------------

Hubert, Dedue, Raphael, and Bernadetta shield their eyes as the blinding light radiates from the Mausoleum, the young girl shivering with fear as an intense energy washes over her. After a few minutes, the light finally subsides, but Bernadetta can still feel a powerful presence in the tomb. 

“What was that?” Raphael asks as he rubs his slightly blinded eyes. 

“I don’t know,” Hubert says, “They must’ve opened the tomb and released what was inside.”

“Did… did none of you f- feel it?” Bernadetta asks as she quakes with fear. 

“Feel what?” Dedue asks. 

“It- it felt like… something p- powerful just…” Bernadetta is unable to finish her sentence as they hear a commotion at the doors of the Chapel. 

“Oh no,” Hubert grumbles, “It got the guards attention.” 

“What do we do?” Raphael asks, “Byleth hasn’t given the signal yet.”

“We might not have a choice,” Dedue says as he stands to his feet, “I’ll unlock the doors, you all just wait here.”

\--------------

Edelgard rubs her eyes as her vision returns to her after being blinded by the light from the sword. She sees Byleth first, standing tall with the sword resting limply in her hand. Everyone else around her also seemed to be coming to their senses as well. 

“By the Goddess,” Dimitri says, “What just happened?” 

“I- I couldn’t tell you if I could,” Byleth responds as she takes a more battle ready stance, staring down the remaining mercenaries as the Death Knight takes his place beside her. 

“You,” the lead mage says as he stands to his feet, “You are willing to betray us? After everything we did to get here!”

“It is the will of the Emperor of Flames,” the Death Knight says with cold bloodlust in his voice, “Now you all shall die.” As if synchronized by an unseen force, the Ashen Demon and the Death Knight charge forward. A swordsman is the first to be killed by the Knight, his scythe tearing effortlessly through the man’s neck. Byleth takes the second and third kills, the Sword of the Creator burning with raw power as it rips through the chest of two ax-men. 

“Oh no,” the now terrified lead mage says as the two monsters approach him, mercilessly killing the mercenaries, “I need to get out of here.” The man takes a risk as his last fellow mage is cut in half by the Death Knight, and charges between his two enemies. He is halfway down the hall when he turns back to face the tomb, out of reach of anyone still present. 

“You’re not escaping that easily,” Byleth calls as she calmly walks towards the mage. 

“Like I need to stay any longer,” the mage retorts, a circle of flames forming around him, “And this is where we par-,” Before he could finish, he hears an odd sound, as if links of a large chain are clashing together. He looks at Byleth as she swings the sword over her head, then crossing downward towards him. But the sword seemed as if it had turned into a bladed whip, the very tip of which sunk deep into his heart. He stared in disbelief at his chest as the flames around him disappeared, and his world grew cold and dark. 

Byleth rips the segmented weapon back at herself, the segments restacking into a more familiar sword-like shape. The lead mage falls to the ground, clutching at his exposed heart. He throws one more dumbstruck glance at Byleth before going limp, his blood pouring out of his open wound. Byleth takes several deep breaths before turning back to the Death Knight and nodding in his direction. 

“Why are you helping us?” Claude asks suddenly, drawing the man’s attention.

“As I said,” the Knight responds with little emotion, “It is the will of the Emperor of Flames.”

“And…” Ingrid begins, “Just who is this ‘Emperor’ anyway?”

“You will learn in time,” the Death Knight responds, “How you choose to react is at your discretion. For now, though,” he says as he remounts his horse, “Their identity will remain secret until the time is right.” 

“And when will that be,” Ferdinand asks as he shakily approaches the armored man. 

“You will know soon enough,” Suddenly, a massive pillar of flames engulf the Death Knight and his horse, and once the flames die down, he is gone. 

“Well, I’d say that went alright, given the circumstances,” Sothis says nonchalantly. 

Dimitri turns his head around himself as he suddenly asks, “I’m sorry, but did anyone else hear a little girl just now?” 

“Oh thank the Goddess I’m not the only one!” Sylvain suddenly exclaims as he lets loose a heavy breath. 

“You mean…” Felix says as concern fills his eyes, “You heard it too?”

“Heard what?” Leonie asks, looking at the three men with confusion plastered on her face.

“You mean you  _ didn’t  _ hear it?” Claude asks the confused woman. 

“I didn’t hear anything,” Dorothea says, “Did you, Ferdie?”

“I hate to say this, but yes I did,” Ferdinand says as he scratches his head, “What about you two?” He asks Petra and Casper.

“No” Casper answers. 

“Nope, nothing,” Petra answers as well.

Byleth and Edelgard share an equally shocked and concerned look before the former says, “Alright. Whoever heard the voice, raise your hand.” Dimitri, Sylvain, Mercedes, Felix, Ingrid, Annette, Claude, Lysithea, Marianne, Hilda, Lorenz, Edelgard, Ferdinand, and Byleth herself all raise their hands together, Byleth’s face filled with confusion. 

“Wait,” Claude says, “Why did we hear a voice, but Ashe, Casper, Leonie and Petra didn’t?”

The students and professor remain quiet before Lysithea suddenly says, “They don’t have crests.” 

“Wait, you mean only crest bearers heard that?” Annette asks.

“It’s the only logical thing I could think of that we have in common,” Lysithea replies readily, “We need to tell the Archbishop this.”

Byleth sighs before saying, “We need to tell her about this as well,” As she speaks, she lifts the sword up for everyone to see, “She may be able to explain why it was in the tomb.” 

“Explain what was in the tomb?” A sudden, gruff voice calls out from down the hall. Byleth just slowly blinks her eyes before turning to face down the hall, finding her father and about fifteen guards behind him, his expression one of pure parental disapproval. “You and the students have some explaining to do.” 

\--------------

_ Several hours later… _

__ The Archbishop sits calmly on her throne as she takes a drawn out sip from her teacup. As she lowers her cup, she opens her eyes to throw a disapproving glare at the Professor and students before her. They had all been gathered together once she received word of what had happened in the Holy Mausoleum. Once Byleth gave her initial testimony to her father, Anna and John were also brought in for their involvement, and Cyril was also asked to join the students ranks for his involvement as well. 

On her left, there were four priests who had been arrested as well as the lone mage that Anna had managed to escape from. They are silent, not daring to say a word lest they incite Rhea’s wrath as they look at the congregated students before them. Behind the arrested priests and mage, Catherine, Shamir, Gilbert, and Alois stand awkwardly as they take in the sight before them, also not daring to speak either. 

On Rhea’s right, Seteth stood stoically, his expression purely neutral as he scans the students, with Jeralt also standing just as stoic as he too scans the students. 

Rhea takes a deep breath and another sip of tea before finally saying, “Professor. I want you to explain just what had happened in the Holy Mausoleum and the events that led up to it.”

Byleth nods before explaining the events that took place, leaving no detail unknown to the Archbishop. Rhea said nothing the entire time until she reached this part, “Once the Death Knight teleported away, we all heard a voice.”

“A voice?” Rhea asks inquisitively. 

“Yes,” Byleth confirms, “It sounded like a younger girl, maybe about as old as Lysithea.”

“And what did it say?” Rhea asks as she sits a little straighter. 

“It simply commented on the battle, saying that it ‘went alright’,” Byleth states. 

“And who heard it?”

“It would honestly be easier to say who didn’t hear it, they being Ashe, Casper, Leonie, and Petra.”

“But everyone else besides those not in the tomb did hear this voice?” 

“Yes.”

Rhea shares a concerned look with Seteth before asking Byleth, “What happened after?”

“That’s about when my father entered the tomb and found us,” Byleth confirms, “I’m sure he already told you how that went.”

“Indeed,” Jeralt confirms while turning to Anna and John, “What about you two. Did you do anything direct?”

“We just acted as lookouts,” Anna confirms, “Once the mages were inside, we had Cyril report it directly to Byleth. It was after he left that I had my run in with that mage over there,” she points to the mage in question as he shrinks back uncomfortably, his broken arm causing him to grimace in pain, “After that, I just returned to my stall.”

“I see,” the Archbishop states as she takes another sip from her tea. “Bring the prisoners before me,” she orders the knights on her left. 

The priests and mage offer little resistance as they are brought before the Archbishop, her glare intensifying. They dare not look up at her until she orders , “Explain yourselves,” with a firm tone that sends shivers down everyone’s spines. 

“Why should we?” the mage says with a quiet, mocking tone, “We’re dead men anyway.”

The Archbishop’s eyes narrow as she says, “This is your one chance to defend yourselves, so answer me now, or face the block.”

“We were forced,” one of the priests says immediately, “Me and Ralph here,” he nods his head to his left, “We had heard Eric talking with someone about raiding the tomb, and they must’ve heard us because, when we went to our rooms that night, Eric and Reginald had daggers at our throats, threatening to kill us if we said anything to anyone.” 

Rhea takes a deep breath before ordering, “Catherine, Shamir, take Brother Ralph and Brother Julias to the prison cells. I will decide their fate separately when I have a clearer mind.” The two knights nod and do as they’re told, the priests not resisting as they are escorted away. “As for you two,” she looks at the two remaining priests named Eric and Reginald, “Is this true?”

Eric opens his eyes to glare at Rhea before saying with every ounce of defiance he had, “Yes, Demon.” This earns a gasp from nearly everyone in the room, only Jeralt and Seteth remaining silent. 

Rhea seems unfazed by this act against her, and simply says, “If that is how you feel, I will not challenge it,” but her expression changes to one of pure disgust as her voices is raise, “But I simply can not accept what you and Reginald have done to subvert the security and sanctity of this Church.”

“And why would that matter anyway?” Eric retorts, “It’s not like you can change what has happened.”

“No,” Rhea whispers quietly, her voice sharp as steel, “While I cannot change what has happened, I can at least prevent it from happening again.” She looks at Eric dead in his eyes and gives her final judgment, “For their actions against the Church, which had compromised the safety and security of those who serve within it, I hereby declare former Brothers Eric and Reginald, plus their accomplice who has refused to give his name, guilty for their crimes, and they will all face execution by beheading as their punishment. Gilbert, Alois, take them away.” The two knights nod curtly as they grab the ever resistant priests and the calm mage, the priests shouting obscenities at Rhea as they are taken to their prison cells. 

Once the doors close and the shouting from the priests fade away, the Archbishop takes several minutes to calm herself before saying, “Byleth, step forward please.”

Byleth does as she is told, and closes her eyes as she awaits Rhea’s judgment. Rhea begins, “While I cannot condone disobeying direct orders given, nor can I condone orchestrating this entire operation without my approval nor the approval or knowledge of Captain Jeralt, you and the students have performed an immense service for the church that maintained the safety of everyone here, as well as unearthed a Relic that was once long thought to be lost.” Byleth opens her eyes to find Rhea smiling gently at her as she continues, “As such, tomorrow you and the students will have a day to recover from this incident, and I ask that you, Byleth, guard the Sword of the Creator with your life if you must. While we may not be able to explain why the Sword has chosen you, we cannot change what has been set in stone.”

Byleth simply bows and says, “I will not fail you, Archbishop.” Rhea nods as Byleth rejoins her students before the Archbishop calls Anna, John, and Cyril forward. 

“As for you three,” Rhea says, “Again, I can not condone subverting your duties to the Church, John and Cyril, and I can not condone what you did to that mage, Anna; however, all three of you have helped the students accomplish their goals in defending the Church, even if it was in a small way. As such; Cyril,” the young boy stands straighter as Rhea speaks, “I wish for you to join the students this year in their classes, and your duties list will be modified to allow for this to happen. Do you have any specific requests as to which house you'd wish to join?"

Cyril is dumbstruck as he contemplates his answer before saying, “Um… the Golden Deer. I wish to join the Golden Deer, Lady Rhea.” 

“Very well,” she turns to Seteth and asks, “Once this is finished, help him get fitted for a uniform.” 

“Of course, Archbishop,” Seteth replies. 

Rhea turns back to Anna and says, “Anna, your skills demonstrated today have certainly impressed several of the guards as well as the captain here. While we will not request this as an everyday job, I am hoping you consider taking an instructor's position in hand-to-hand combat and self defense here at the academy. And yes, I might be able to set up a rather generous pay rate if it suits you.”

“Archbishop,” Anna begins, “A standard pay rate is fine. I have plenty of gold saved up from my sales, and I would love to take up a position like that here.”

“Thank you, just speak with Seteth tomorrow so we can get the paperwork filled out,” at last, Rhea turns to John, “And as for you, John, your loyalty and service to the Church today has not gone unnoticed. While I understand the need to maintain the gates, I feel that your skills may be getting wasted if you continue serving as our resident gate guard. As such,” Rhea nods at Jeralt as he steps forward.

“I know this is sudden,” Jeralt begins, “But we need men like you within the ranks of the knights, now more than ever. I’m only making this offer once, so I ask, will you join the Knights of Serios?”

John stands shocked at the offer made, before readily answering with a crisp salute, “Yes, sir, Captain!”

Jeralt gives a half grin and a nod before saying, “Then I’ll see you in the training field, cadet.”

“As for everyone else,” Rhea begins, drawing everyone’s attention, “As I have stated, I am allowing everyone a chance to recover tomorrow from the events of today. Unless anyone has anything they need to add, you are all dismissed.”

\--------------

Rhea stares out of the window of the audience chamber while wearing a contemplative frown. While the events of today may have been surprising on their own, what she didn’t expect was the last part of Byleth’s testimony. ‘Could mother truly have spoken to the students?’

“Cyril seems uncertain about joining the classes in a few days,” Seteth suddenly says behind her, “I’d suggest speaking with him about it tomorrow.”

“I will,” Rhea says as she turns back to Seteth, “I fully expect him to have reservations about it. He was just as nervous when I had him set up with Shamir for his initial archery lessons.”

“Do you mind if we…” Seteth nods at the doors that lead to Rhea’s personal chambers, and she nods her approval before entering with Seteth in tow. 

Once the doors are closed and locked securely, Seteth asks with a low voice, “What’s your thoughts on the voice that the students heard, Seiros?” 

“It’s mother, Cichol” she confirms, “I’m certain of it.”

“If it is,” Cichol says, “Then why would she sound like a child, and why would she say something so… casual.” 

“I don’t know,” Seiros begins, “All I know is that it has been almost one thousand years since she was lost. In that time, she could’ve been reborn or remade to be much younger than before, and likely doesn’t remember who she once was. If her spirit has been released from the tomb, then perhaps her rebirth may soon be upon us.”

Cichol looks away to contemplate what he had been told, “Are you worried of what she would say if she saw you now?”

“Everything I have done is in her name and honor,” Seiros states, “I am more worried about how she would react to the state of affairs in Fodlan than the Church itself.” 

“I see,” Cichol turns back to the door and unlocks it to leave and says, “I am going to gather the paperwork to hire Anna tomorrow before getting some sleep tonight. Goodnight Rhea.”

“Goodnight, Seteth,” Rhea replies as he closes the door behind himself. She stands silently in her room as she feels tears roll down her cheek. ‘Please… please let it work this time. Please come back.’

\--------------

Byleth and Edelgard are walking back to the dormitories after finishing their admittedly late dinner. 

“So, Sothis told you about the sword, didn’t she?” Byleth asks quietly. 

“Yes,” Edelgard confirms, “It’s the reason Jeritza knows as well.”

“What made you decide to tell him?” 

“It was Sothis’s idea,” Edelgard states, “When I told her how I would partially rebel against Thales with the Death Knight, she recommended that I tell him about the truth, specifically what was in the Tomb.”

“Fair enough,” Byleth concedes, “Better idea than anything I could come up with. I just hope she’s ok, though.”

“Yeah,” Edelgard confirms, “When Dimitri and Felix began asking about her sudden comment, I sensed her darting out of the room. She’s probably shaken up the same way as when she spoke with me the first time.”

“Well,” Byleth says as they reach her dorm room, “If we are lucky, maybe she’s coherent enough to talk about it tonight.” Byleth opens her door to allow Edelgard to enter first before following her in, but after she closes the door, she finds Edelgard staring at the corner of the room, unmoving. Byleth is about to ask what is wrong until she also looks at the corner, and is suddenly paralyzed in place. 

“Oh…” Sothis says with a tired voice, “You’re back. How did everything go?” 

“Uh……..” is Edelgard’s only response. 

“That sounds fun,” Sothis replies, her mind completely frazzled by today’s events, “Apparently,  _ everyone  _ can hear me now. Well, all the crest bearers at least. Say Edelgard, maybe I can help you and Dimitri when-,”

“Sothis,” Byleth interrupts, drawing the Goddess’s attention. 

“Yeah,” the Goddess replies, turning to look at her dumbstruck and paralyzed friends, “What’s wrong?” 

“Uh…. we can…. see…” Edelgard begins but is unable to finish. 

Sothis gets up and approaches Edelgard while saying, “What do you mean you… can…” but turns her head and catches a glimpse of the mirror, seeing a young girl looking back. It takes her only a moment to realize that she’s looking at  _ her  _ reflection. Her jaw drops open as she looks at herself, taking in her wild, waists length, green hair, her equally green eyes, her elegant, flowing blue dress as she traces the features of her face. “Ha… Hey…” Sothis says with an incredibly unsteady voice, “I can… see myself in… a mirror now. That’s…. nice.” Sothis’s eyes roll to the back of her head as she falls backward to the floor, fainting from the overwhelming revelation. 

Byleth and Edelgard just stare at Sothis’s unmoving form before Byleth just says, “Well… fuck.”

“Yup,” is Edelgard’s only response. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on that bombshell... or is it carpet bombing in this case?  
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter in all of its insanity, because it is only going to get more insane from here. Till next time!


	15. Free Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Won't you fly high free bird yeah."-Lynyrd Synyrd

Byleth and Edelgard stare at an unconscious Sothis, their expressions of pure shock. Edelgard takes a few tentative steps forward before crouching down to Sothis and risking a poke in her arm. Instead of passing through like she expected, Edelgard’s finger met resistance, her finger gently pressing into Sothis’s skin, but it felt wrong. Her arm felt ethereal, like it existed but didn’t at the same time. 

When Edelgard’s finger makes contact with Sothis, though, the Goddess stirs awake slightly, causing Edelgard to back away slightly before she asks, “Are you… alright?”

Sothis groans with pain before saying, “No…. I’m starting to think getting the sword was a bad idea.” 

“Why?” Byleth asks with confusion, “Isn’t it a good thing to have the sword back?”

Sothis stands up again with Edelgard’s help, looking at herself in the mirror, saying, “Well, you and Edelgard can see me now, and I can see myself in a mirror. If that isn’t bad enough, every crest bearer can hear me. I don’t even know if I can get back into my throne space again.” 

“Well, why don’t we test it?” Byleth asks, “What do we have to lose?”

Sothis takes a deep breath and says, “I’ll try.” She closes her eyes and concentrates, drawing power within herself to return to her throne room. However, for Edelgard and Byleth, instead of the usual feeling of being pulled inward, they feel themselves being pulled outward, towards the sword that rests on Byleth’s hip. 

After a few seconds, all three women find themselves somewhere… different than before. The stone throne is still present, but instead of an empty, black void, they find themselves in a proper throne room, complete with richly decorated tapestries, silver sconces, a bright green carpet leading to the throne, and four halls branching outward. The main doors to this place are closed, but Edelgard and Byleth can feel their bodies just outside. They all take in the elaborate decorations before Edelgard and Byleth turn to Sothis again.

“Is this your old…” Byleth’s voice dies in her throat once she sees Sothis. Instead of the child she came to know, before her stood a woman closer to her age in appearance. Her green hair seemed far better kept than before, only reaching about halfway down her back while spreading no wider than her shoulders, and a pair of braids with white and pink ribbons like before dangling freely on either side of her face. Her once bare feet now had decorative leather and gold sandals, the straps wrapping beautifully around her lower legs. Her still deep blue dress reached just above her knees in length, but was also sleeveless and richly adorned with gold and silver ornaments. She also wore silken gloves with intricate designs of dragons and wyverns practically dancing up her arms. 

Physically, her figure could only be described as ideal; a perfect hourglass that would make Dorothea and Hilda jealous. The shape of her face seemed to be more rounded, like Rhea’s, but her chin still ended in a more distinct point that distinguished her. Her piercing green eyes and hair were complemented by a platinum tiara that wrapped around her head, with three gemstones, a ruby, a sapphire, and an emerald, spaced evenly above her forehead. Her only drawback, in Byleth’s eyes, was that she was only about a half inch taller than Edelgard. 

“Yeah, I think… oh,” Sothis begins surprised by her sudden change in voice, “Deeper voice. That’s… wait, weren’t I shorter before?” 

Edelgard stares dumbfounded at this new Sothis, and says, “Uh… maybe we should find a mirror.”

The three women leave the main throne room and venture down one of the halls, and find a perfectly decorated bedroom, the bed itself awash with green and blue as silver curtains encircle the frame. Opposite the bed is a beautifully made ebony dresser with a vanity mirror. Sothis quickly steps in front of the mirror and gasps at her drastic change in appearance, inspecting herself from every angle possible as she nods with approval. 

“I have to say,” Sothis says as she twirls one final time, “I look good.”

“But you're short,” Byleth says bluntly, which earns her a sharp elbow from the other vertically challenged person in the room. 

“And what’s wrong with that?” Edelgard asks curtly before turning back down the hall with Sothis in tow. The three women explore the other three halls quietly to find a bath with an attached sauna, what appears to be a theatre room, and a library, though the shelves seemed to be void of any books or scrolls. 

“Shoot,” Sothis says dejectedly, “Here I thought we might’ve been able to find something useful in here.”

“More to the point though,” Edelgard says, “Where is here exactly?”

“By my best guess,” Byleth muses, “We must be in the Sword of the Creator.” 

“Well,” Sothis says as she looks herself over again, “It certainly explains why my appearance changed so suddenly. Maybe I’m finally free from your head and live in the Sword now.”

“But how will that affect us in the long run,” Edelgard asks.

“For starters,” Byleth says as she glares at Sothis, “Maybe I won’t have to keep putting up with Sabaton every time I’m doing paperwork.”

“Hey,” Sothis responds with an equally spiteful glare, “Sabaton is amazing and I don’t see how either of you can find it so repugnant.” Her eyes lighten up once she realizes something, “Hey, maybe I can finally find someone who will listen to them with me.”

“Never mind that,” Edelgard interjects, “I’m more concerned about how people will react to you. Think about it, the Tomb of Saint Seiros is open now, and the Sword of the Creator has been recovered, but now there is a ghost of some kind haunting the grounds of Garreg Mach.”

“What kind of ghost?” Sothis asks. 

Edelgard facepalms before exasperatedly saying, “You! What will people think when they’re minding their own business when, all of a sudden, they hear a woman from some empty space. We already have over half my classmates spooked by you, and who knows just who else could be affected.”

“Oh,” Sothis suddenly says bashfully, looking away, “I see your point.”

Byleth just holds her chin in contemplation before saying, “We should call it a night for now. Tomorrow, Sothis, I want you to stay by me to see if anyone else besides Edelgard and I can actually see you.”

“And if they can?” Sothis asks with a semi worried tone.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” 

The three women return to the throne room, still enraptured by the decorations that adorn the hall. “To think,” Sothis begins, “After over a millennia, I still remember what my old throne room looked like.” 

“I’ll admit,” Edelgard says, “This makes the throne room in Enbarr seem spartan by comparison.”

“Um…” Byleth interjects, drawing their attention as she looks at the entrance doors, “So… we leave by just walking out the doors, right?”

Sothis just shrugs and says, “I don’t know. Let’s try it.” All three women approach the door and, one by one, touch the door’s handle, only to be dragged back out of the sword once their hands make contact. 

Byleth and Edelgard shudder slightly once their minds readjust to reality before looking back at each other. “Well, that was different,” Byleth states.

“Yup, I… wait a minute,” Sothis begins, before suddenly stopping once she hears her childlike voice again. She darts over to the mirror before her mood deflates, “Ah man. I’m a kid again.” She pouts at her young reflection while her friends look somewhat apologetically at her. 

“Well, I think at this point, I’ve overstayed my welcome, so, I’ll see you both tomorrow,” Edelgard says as she walks to the door, “Goodnight Professor, Sothis,” and leaves. 

Byleth just takes a deep breath before she walks over to her closet to start changing. 

“If I’m honest,” Sothis begins as she sits on Byleth’s bed, “I actually kind of missed… how do I put it… existing like this.” 

“You mean being able to interact with the world?” Byleth asks as she pulls her nightgown over her head.

“Yeah,” Sothis says as she yawns tiredly, “So much better than some crummy old throne…” Byleth doesn’t hear another word from Sothis, and turns to find the Goddess fast asleep… in her bed. 

“But…” Byleth stammers as she stares at Sothis’s sleeping form, “But that’s my bed.” 

Sothis just half opens her unfocused eyes and closes them again while whispering, “My bed.” Byleth just facepalms and accepts defeat while pulling her chair out. 

\--------------

_ The next morning... _

Sothis sits in Byleth’s classroom at one of the front desks, looking absolutely bored with what was taking place before her.

“While I’m impressed with your overall abilities with a lance,” Byleth begins, “I would like for you to spend more time with a training squad to better your commanding abilities, Lorenz.”

“I understand completely, Professor,” Lorenz states with over dramatic flourish, “It wouldn’t be very noble-like of me to not be able to lead anyone into battle now, would it?” 

Byleth has brought Sothis along for the day to see if anyone could actually see her, but so far, no one even reacted to her presence the same way Edelgard did before, and Byleth would often glance her way to try and get her students to look her direction, to no avail. 

“Is there anything you would like to add before I dismiss you?” Byleth asks the young noble before her.

“Actually, there is one thing,” Lorenz says as he leans closer with a serious expression, “With what happened in the Holy Mausoleum, you don’t suppose we released something by accident, did we?”

Byleth looks down at her desk before saying, “In all honesty, I’m not entirely opposed to the idea. We all definitely heard something down there, I just can’t even venture a guess as to what it could be.”

“I see,” Lorenz says as he stands from his chair, “Well, would you like for me to send Lysithea in for you?”

“I would appreciate it, thank you,” Byleth replies, “Just keep in mind your study of focus for this month.” 

“Of course, Professor,” Lorenz replies back as he leaves the classroom to search for the young mage.

“This is going nowhere,” Sothis says with an exasperated sigh once she is certain Lorenz is out of earshot, “We have tried everyone in your class and no one even so much as sensed me and my almighty presence.”

“There’s still Lysithea,” Byleth counters, “And there is a reason I saved her for last.”

“Two crests, I know,” Sothis replies before resting her head in her arms, “I’m just hoping people would’ve been able to, you know, sense me or, Hell, even  _ see _ me like you and the princess. I just find it lonely knowing it’s just you, me and her.”

Byleth gives Sothis an apologetic look before saying, “I understand. There are more experiments we can do after this, but for now, let’s see how Lysithea reacts.” 

They sit and wait for several minutes before the white haired girl arrives at the door, asking, “You wished to speak with me, Professor?”

“Yes, please come in,” Byelth replies without looking up from her paper detailing Lysithea’s progress this year. 

Lysithea walks down between the desks, and takes a seat before Byleth’s desk, though not before throwing a wary glance towards where Sothis is currently sat. The bored Goddess suddenly perks at this, but still remains silent as Byleth starts speaking.

“First, I have to say your skills with reason and dark magic are astronomical,” Byleth praises, “I have discussed this with the other professors and even their students hardly match you and your strengths.”

“Expected,” Lysithea agrees, “I spend most of my time reading as much as I can and applying it when the time allows in the training field. Although, I can’t help but feel like I could do more.” She briefly glances away from Byleth, which the Professor catches. 

“And that’s what I’m worried about,” Byleth says, “Your abilities as a mage are incredible, but everything else is simply falling behind for you. At this rate, you may not be able to defend yourself if an enemy gets too close to you.”

“I know,” Lysithea says as her mood deflates, “I know I should get stronger physically, but I’m not sure if I can.” 

Byleth just looks back down at her desk and says, “I understand, but-”

Suddenly, Lysithea looks behind her towards where Sothis is sitting and asks, “I’m sorry, but is it just me, or is there a green mist just sitting at that desk right there?”

Sothis’s eyes grow wide when Lysithea says this, and stares at Byleth. Byleth looks between the two before saying, “You said you see a mist?”

“Yes,” Lysithea confirms as her anxiousness builds, “Do you see it?”

“Follow me,” Byleth answers, standing from her desk and leading Lysithea out of the classroom quickly. As for Sothis, although she could now physically interact with the world, she still possessed certain paranormal abilities, such as unassisted flight and being able to phase through objects. She wastes no time in phasing through the far wall and arriving at Byleth’s room with little fuss, and it takes only a few minutes for Byleth to arrive with Lysithea in tow. The young girl immediately spots the green mist again and shivers slightly as Byleth closes the door behind her. 

“Uh… it’s in here.” Lysithea says with a shaky voice. 

“I know,” Byleth says, “I can see her too, though not as a mist.” 

“What?” Lysithea whispers, “You mean…”

“What she means,” Sothis says, causing the young mage to freeze up, “Is that she can see me as an ordinary human, while I appear as a mist to you.”

Lysithea gives no response as she holds her hands together at her chest, shivering uncontrollably as she stares at the mist. 

“Lysithea,” Byleth says calmly, “You have nothing to fear,” She approaches the young girl and places her hand on her shoulder, causing Lysithea’s shaking to abate. 

“S-s-s-so…” Lysithea stammers, “That voice… was real?” 

“Yes, I’m very real,” Sothis confirms as she slowly approaches Lysithea, “Byleth and I have known each other for some time now, and recently, I’ve come to befriend Edelgard. It’s half the reason she and Byleth have spent so much time together.”

“Who… are you?” Lysithea asks as she forces her voice to steady itself. 

“My name is Sothis, the Goddess of Fodlan.”

“I-impossible,” Lysithea argues, “I thought… I thought the Goddess is supposed to have ascended.”

“It’s been over a millennium since my passing,” Sothis counters, “The details of it have been changed or obscured over the years. Also, I was never an eternal youth, though my voice would suggest otherwise.”

“And how can you prove that?” Lysithea asks, her anxiousness having subsided. 

“Well… brace yourself,” Sothis says as the level of power in the room builds, and Lysithea feels herself getting pulled towards the Sword that Byleth has sitting near the closet. 

A few moments later, Lysithea finds herself in an incredible throne room, and sitting upon the throne is a green haired woman wearing a beautiful blue dress. 

“Hello Lysithea,” the woman begins with a broad grin, “This is the only way that I could prove my claim as the Goddess.”

“Wow…” Lysithea replies, her eyes tracing the elaborate tapestries depicting what appears to be the history of a lost civilization. “And… this must be in the Sword of the Creator, right?”

“Indeed,” Sothis says as she stands from her throne and approaches the young girl, “I only appear and sound like this in here, though. Out in the world, I sound like a child.”

“But, where’s Byleth?” Lysithea asks. 

“I left her out there,” Sothis confirms as she points to the large doors, “We’ve never had a chance to see what you look like when we are in here, and she was curious.”

“I see,” Lysithea says as she looks down the halls, “And, you said something about befriending the princess, right?”

“That’s correct,” Sothis confirms, “We started speaking to each other about two weeks before we went to the Red Canyon.”

“It wouldn’t happen to have something to do with her two crests?” Lysithea asks. 

“We’ll sort of, it- wait,” Sothis throws a confused look at Lysithea, “How do you know that?”

“We’ve been talking to each other late at night in the sauna when no one else is around, though the increase in security this past month has made it extremely difficult to do,” Lysithea admits, “She told me what she knows about TWSITD, and that she poses both the Crest of Seiros and the Crest of Flames. It’s the latter Crest that let her hear you first, right?”

“That’s… actually on the spot,” Sothis says, surprised, “Has she told you anything else?”

“There are a couple things,” Lysithea says as her expression drops, “She also admitted her distrust of the Church as well as some… plans.”

“Plans?” Sothis raises an eyebrow.

“Well…” Lysithea brushes her hair back and says, “She wants to… not so much overthrow the Church, not anymore at least, but force the Church to reform with the combined might of Fodlan. She… even admitted to me that she is this ‘Emperor of Flames’ the Death Knight referred to last night.” 

“Huh,” Sothis says as she shrugs with approval, “She’s actually taking my advice seriously.”

“You told her to do this?” Lysithea asks curiously. 

“I was more guiding her in the right direction. Her original plan was a little more… destructive shall we say.”

“Oh,” Lysithea responds with her eyes wide, “She did mention that as well, about going to war if necessary.”

“Yeah,” Sothis says as she scratches her head, “When we discovered we could talk to each other, I figured out what her plans were and decided to help her try and get better results with less bloodshed.”

“I see,” Lysithea says as her eyes turn to stare at the tapestries. 

Sothis tilts her head when she notices Lysithea’s head drooping towards the ground, and can see a few tears forming on her face. She hesitantly steps closer to the young girl and asks, “Is something wrong?”

“Do you think… there is still hope for me and her?” Lysithea asks, her voice starting to fail. 

“What do you mean?” Sothis asks in response, her eyes filled with worry. 

Lysithea closes her eyes as more tears form, “For years, I’ve accepted that I wouldn't have a long life, that my future would only last a few more years. I know the princess feels the same way, and I just want to know, is there even a chance for us? A chance to enjoy a long life?”

Lysithea looks into Sothis’s eyes, almost pleading with her for an answer to all her problems, and Sothis answers “I know there is a solution, and it might take some time to actually achieve it. My advice: talk to Hanneman. If anyone is even remotely capable of achieving the long term solution to your and Edelgard’s two Crest issue, it’s him.”

“You really think so?” Lysithea asks, a sliver of hope visible in her eyes. 

“I know so,” Sothis affirms with a small smile, embracing the young girl as she speaks. Lysithea stiffens up slightly before returning the embrace, allowing her worry and concern to fade away for the time being. 

\--------------

Byleth paces around Lysithea’s semi-conscious form, taking note of the pale green light that emits from her eyes as well as what appears to be a faint tether from her head to the Sword of the Creator. She tried swiping her hand through the ethereal stream, but her hand just harmlessly passed right through, a feeling of pins and needles moving through her hand as she did so. Byleth also tried a few experimental nudges against Lysithea and her body reacted as expected; trying to retain its balance while also avoiding obstacles in its way. ‘That must be instinct, then. Useful if some kind of incident happens when we are in the sword.’ 

A few minutes later, Lysithea’s body shivers slightly as the green light in her eyes fades and the ethereal tether shoots back into her head. Lysithea blinks a few times to refocus her eyes and takes a quick look around the room before turning to Byleth, asking, “I really hope I’m not dreaming.”

“I hope you’re not, either,” Byleth replies sarcastically, “Otherwise, we might have a bigger problem than Sothis talking to everyone now.”

“Oh, laugh it up, Byleth,” Sothis retorts, “At least we know I can pull other people into the throne room now, so that means our next experiment is possible.”

“Experiment?” Lysithea asks. 

“This one is her idea,” Byleth says with a heavy sigh, “She wants to try and get as many people at once in the throne room so she can get everyone on the same page at the same time. I said it was a bad idea and she said…,” Byleth gestures towards the mischievous Goddess.

“You can’t stop me,” Sothis answers with a broad grin only visible to Byleth, “I am your Goddess.”

“Awfully bold of you,” Lysithea replies before turning back to Byleth, “If you really are going through with this experiment, at least give everyone warning before committing to it. More than a few students will likely take it to the Archbishop if you do it suddenly.”

“We don’t plan on doing it until later tonight,” Byleth says, “And Sothis said she will introduce herself to everyone before she actually drags them into the throne room. We just wanted to see if anyone could actually see her before we did anything else.”

“Fair enough,” Lysithea says before turning to the door, “I need to get back to the library. I… I’ve been helping Cyril with learning how to read these last several weeks, and if he’s joining our class tomorrow, I need to expedite the lessons.” 

“Thank you,” Byleth replies, “It will certainly take a burden off me once he does join us.” With that, Lysithea took her leave, leaving Sothis and Byleth in the room. 

“You know she only does this because she  _ likes _ the boy, whether she knows it or not,” Sothis says with a knowing grin. 

“Speaking of ‘ _ likes’ _ ,” Byleth responds before turning towards the young Goddess, “Last night, I couldn’t help but overhear you mentioning Ignatz’s name a few times while you were asleep. Care to answer that?” Rather than get a verbal response, Sothis’s eyes shrink to pinpricks before she disappears from Byleth’s sight, seemingly turning invisible at will. Byleth lets out a small chuckle before leaving her room, contemplating just how tonight would go. 

\--------------

Leonie sat slumped over on the fishing pier, her fishing rod cast out waiting for a bite. Under normal circumstances, most fishers at this pond would have had at least five or six bites by now, but Leonie had been sitting here for four hours with nothing to show for it. Her fishing partner, Raphael, may have had a few hits of his own, but all of his catches were smaller than a fist, and he just decided to let them go afterward. 

“I feel like we’re cursed,” Leonie says with a heavy sigh. 

“I’m not gonna argue that,” Raphael agrees, “You can’t catch a thing and all I’ve got so far are minnows. Maybe we should talk to the fish master about it.”

“I did,” Leonie says as she leans back to stretch, “All he said was wait and be patient, but four hours is a bit long for a pond with dozens of fish and only so much space for the fish to go.”

“Yeah…” Raphael says as he turns to her, caught off guard by her incredibly fit body for a moment before saying, “Should we call it a day?”

“Not much choice at this point,” she says as she reels in her line, the hook emerging with the still intact bait. She yanks the bait off the hook and throws it at the pond, only for a fish to jump out and catch it in mid air. “OH COME ON!” Leonie shouts at the fish with anger as the fish master erupts with laughter, “You’re just mocking me now!”

Raphael would’ve laughed also were it not for his own poor luck, and he too reels in his line. His bait, however, had been replaced by yet another minnow, which he released gently into the water before joining Leonie at the laughing fish master’s hut. 

“I really hate to say this,” the fish master says as he comes down from his laughing fit, “I have never seen  _ anyone, _ in all my years of fishing, that has had poorer luck than you. It’s almost like you’re the polar opposite of Professor Byleth.”

“Oh, keep laughing it up and see if I don’t come for you when I graduate,” Leonie says angrily as Raphael returns his equipment. The both take their leave as the fish master shakes his head at the whole display. 

“So, want to get something to eat?” Raphael asks as they approach the dining hall. 

“You’ve said that every thirty minutes once we started… well, sitting at the pier,” Leonie responds, not daring to say that damnable pass time’s name. 

“You should know me at this point,” Raphael says as they enter the hall, finding it rather empty for the day. The staff hadn’t started anything for dinner yet, but they did have a few scattered day old baked goods that Leonie and Raphael accepted readily. They sit down at one of the tables when Raphael asks, “What do you think about that voice everyone’s going on about?”

“I don’t know,” Leonie sighs, “I was there when everyone else heard it, and I didn’t hear so much as a whisper. I’m willing to bet it’s a trick that this Death Knight is trying to pull.”

“I would agree with you,” Raphael begins, “But outside the Mausoleum, Bernadetta said that she felt something powerful when that light blinded us. All I saw was the light, and Dedue and Hubert didn’t feel anything at all. If it is a trick, it’s probably targeted at crest bearers.”

Leonie nods as she bites into her danish before saying with a full mouth, “In that case, next time we see this Death Knight, we will have to force an answer out of him.”

“Maybe,” Raphael says while looking at his plate, his appetite having strangely subsided. He shakes his head as he consumes a muffin in one bite and says, “I… can’t help but feel like something big is going to happen before the end of the year.”

“How big are we talking?” Leonie asks. 

“Like ‘fate of Fodlan’ big,” Raphael explains, “Between the Western Church getting as hostile as they are, the princess and the prince having these tea dates about once a week, and suddenly the Sword of the Creator manifesting like it hasn’t been missing for a millennium, I really feel like we are front row for something that will change everything.”

“Front row, or active participants in?” Leonie speculates, “You have to remember, we are students here as well. We may not have a choice in sitting this out. I just hope whatever comes doesn’t end badly for us.”

“I know,” Raphael says, his plate of food ignored as he stands up to dispose of it. 

“You’re not hungry?” Leonie asks with her eyebrow raised, also standing with her plate. 

“Yeah,” Raphael says with a sigh, “Yesterday’s just got me feeling weird.”

Leonie shrugs with agreement as she throws her plate’s contents in the trash and returns it to the kitchen staff. “Um…” she begins as she looks awkwardly away, “Do you want to… walk around the forest with me?”

Raphael notices her discomfort, which in turn causes him to feel uncomfortable as well as he says, “Uh… sure. I don’t mind.” Leonie turns around to give him an appreciative smile before they begin walking towards the gate. 

\--------------

Marianne gently brushes Dorte’s mane as she hums a hymn to herself. Behind her, Hilda is inspecting the wings of a pegasus, taking great care to remove any errant feathers that were damaged while realigning others. They aren’t the only ones, as the stable and flight masters were busy instructing other students in the care of their chosen mounts. Claud and Ferdinand had heavier brushes as they cleaned the scales of their wyverns while Bernadetta and Ingrid were taking care of pegasi of their own. 

“I think I understand why you find it so comfortable taking care of the animals here, Mari,” Hilda says quietly to avoid startling her friend, “It really is relaxing.”

Marianne stops humming and says, “I know. I… heard you signed up for flight lessons.”

“Yep,” Hilda confirms, “They’re beginning them today, hence why I’m here right now.”

“Alright,” the flight master calls suddenly, making Marianne and Bernadetta stiffen up a bit, “If you’ve signed up for flight practice today, you have five minutes to ready your mounts and follow me to the field.”

Marianne takes several breaths to calm herself as Hilda grabs a flight saddle for her pegasus. Marianne turns to her and asks, “Um... do you need help?”

“I would love it,” Hilda responds with a smile. The both heft the saddle onto the pegasus’ back, taking care to avoid the wings and securing it. Hilda takes a few minutes to adjust the stirrups as Marianne grabs a set of reins for Hilda. After Hilda gets the reins properly secured, she turns back to Marianne, “Thank you for your help. I should be fine now.”

“It… it’s nothing,” Marianne replies as she brushes a stray strand of hair behind her ear, “Anything f-for a friend.”

Before Hilda can reply, the flight master calls once again, “All flight students, please follow me.”

“Oh, I’ve got to go.”

Before Hilda can lead her pegasus out of the stable, Marianne grabs her arm and pulls her into a deep embrace, holding her surprisingly tightly, much to Hilda’s shock. ‘She’s never been this upfront.'

Marianne pulls back and simply says, “Please stay safe.”

Hilda gets a confident smirk as she grabs the reins and says, “I will.”

\--------------

Bernadetta and the other students stood at attention with their mounts by their side in an open field. The flight master is walking between each pegasus and wyvern, inspecting the saddles and reins to ensure that they are secure. 

“Your saddle’s loose, Ferdinand,” she says as she shakes his saddle, “Tighten it.” Ferdinand does as he is told as the flight master approaches Bernadetta’s pegasus. 

She tilts her head as she tugs the reins, saying, “Have you done this before?”

“N-n-no,” Bernadetta stammers out. 

The flight master gets a grin and says, “For a novice, you’ve done well.” She gently tries to shake the saddle, but it remains stiff and secure to the pegasus. “Very well.” The flight master steps away to her own pegasus before turning back to the students. “For most of you,” she begins, “You’ve passed the pre-flight check. However, do not think that means you can be complacent once we are in the air. Although the straps are secure now, once we land, I can guarantee that several straps will be loose. By ensuring they are at least properly secured before take off, the risk of falling due to equipment failure will be mitigated.”

As she finishes, a wyvern comes over the nearby wall and lands next to the flight master. The students stiffen up a bit once they realize Seteth is the rider. “Don’t worry,” the flight master asures, “I’ve asked him to join us for today’s lesson. If anyone falls off their mount, he will catch you, though with the saddles you’ve been given, you shouldn’t worry.”

“Indeed,” Seteth says with a nod, “Just know that if I do need to catch you, you will have stable duty for the rest of the week, and yes, that includes manure removal.” The students all gag slightly before Seteth says, “But it shouldn’t be a problem.”

The flight master rolls her eyes before mounting her pegasus and commands, “Alright everyone! Mount up! Once you’re on, secure the leg straps and lap belt.”

Bernadetta makes a couple attempts to climb onto her pegasus unsuccessfully but gets on on her third. She leans over both sides to secure her legs to the saddle before grabbing the leather belts to secure her lap. Once finished, she looks over at the other students. Ferdinand, Claude, and Ingrid have little trouble securing their straps, but Hilda has a small issue with her lap belt as it is tangled around itself. It takes her several minutes to untangle it and secure it, though Seteth throws a disappointed glare at her before saying, “Next time, ensure your saddle is in good condition before leaving the stable.”

“Yes sir,” Hilda says quietly as to avoid incurring his disappointment further. 

“Now that you are secure,” the flight master begins, “We will go over our flight plan. We will start by taking off and flying east away from the monastery. Seteth will take the rear while I will lead. You all may take any formation you want, but please keep at least six feet between each of you for safety reasons. Once we are all in the air, you will all follow me through basic maneuvering, and yes, we will be flying around Garreg Mach the entire time. We won't be doing anything fancy, but there will be a few close passes and one dive during the flight. Once I feel you all have had enough time today, we will return back here for landing. Again, I will be first to display proper landing while you all continue following Seteth as I call each of you one at a time. Any questions before we take off?”

Bernadetta timidly raises her hand and asks, “Um… how long w-will we be f-flying?”

The flight master just shrugs and says, “Depends on how I feel and how soon you and your classmates get the hang of it. Anything else?” No one else raises their hand as she nods. “Good. Everyone, get yourselves ready. We take off in one minute.”

The students space themselves out as the flight master takes off, gently circling the field as Seteth begins counting down. Bernadetta shakes frightened in her saddle, unsure if this activity would be good for her. ‘What if my saddle fails and I fall? What if Seteth can’t catch me in time? What if…”

“Bernadetta,” she hears her name begin called by Ferdinand. She turns to look at him as he says, “Relax. You are going to be fine. Besides, you’ve got us.”

“Yup,” Hilda says, “We’ll be right here if things get too scary for you.”

“That,” Claude adds, “and I doubt you’ll get a better view of the world until you get in the air.”

Bernadetta just nods as her shivering abates, and then Seteth calls, “Ferdinand! Go!” Ferdinand snaps his reins and his wyvern takes off with little issue. However, a slew of explicit words come from him once he starts following the flight master and clears the wall, causing Seteth to facepalm. “Claude, follow him.” He says from behind his hand. Claude chuckles as he snaps his reins and takes off after Ferdinand. 

Seteth shakes his head as he says, “Hilda, you’re next.” Hilda gets a large smile as she spurs her pegasus into the air. “Ingrid, go!” Ingrid spurs her pegasus into the air next, following Hilda as they clear the wall. 

Bernadetta’s heart sinks once her classmates are in the air. ‘Oh no oh no oh no oh no…’ 

“Bernadetta!” Seteth calls, making the poor girl stiffen up with fright. “You’re up!”

“Y-y-y-yes sir!” She calls frightfully, instinctively spurring her pegasus. It enters a full gallop as Bernadetta shrieks with fright, clinging desperately onto its neck. She closes her eyes as the galloping suddenly stops, but the wind on her face only increases. She hears only the sound of flapping wings as she risks opening her eyes just a little bit, and the sight before her takes her breath away. She has long passed the wall, the ground many yards below. She looks over the edge of her horse, tracing the winding river as it passes through the valley. She looks ahead of herself, and spurs her pegasus faster to catch up to her classmates, embracing the feeling of the winds as it brushes past her face. As she approaches, she can just hear Ferdinand. 

“Holy fucking shit!” He shouts, “This is fucking crazy!”

Claude is laughing up a storm as the flight master calls back, “Watch your language before I kick you off that wyvern.”

“This is insane!” Ferdinand shouts back, “I thought we were going to stay close to the ground.”

Claude, no longer struck with laughter, says, “That’s too dangerous. Low flying is way too advanced a skill for us.”

Bernadetta, feeling strangely bold, suddenly calls out to Ferdinand, “I thought you said everything would be fine?”

Ferdinand risks looking back at Bernadetta before snapping his face back forward, his response being, “How are you handling this so well?!” 

Bernadetta couldn’t figure out why she is so comfortable with this. If anything, she found this exhilarating, the feeling of flight comparable to the feeling of absolute freedom. 

“I can’t help but feel like Ferdinand and Bernadetta have switched roles on us,” Hilda observes with a chuckle, “I mean, look how big her smile is.”

“Yeah,” Ingrid agrees, “I expected her to have a panic attack like Ferdinand, but she’s just as calm as can be.”

“If you all are done talking, we will be banking right, back towards Garreg Mach,” the flight master calls back, her pegasus already turning. The five students and Seteth follow with a wide turn until they face the monastery. The flight master suddenly pulls her horse into a shallow climb, driving her pegasus higher. 

“Uh,” Ferdinand says nervously, “What are we doing?”

“Is it not obvious,” the flight master responds, leveling out high above the monastery, “We’re about to dive.”

“Oh,” Ferdinand says with nervous laughter, the color in his face draining, “I thought it would be, you know, high altitude banking, but diving makes  _ so  _ much more sense…,” his expression drops as he mutters under his breath, “oh fuck…”

Bernadetta risks looking down, but strangely, isn’t struck with vertigo. Her eyes are filled with awe as she takes in just how high above the monastery they are, the residence within like ants from such an altitude. 

“Wow,” Hilda says with fascination, “You really don’t get this from standing on the ground.”

“The only way you get this view from ground level is on a mountain,” Claude replies, “But this is far more fun.”

“Fun how?” Ferdinand asks with trepidation.

The flight master calls back with no remorse in her voice, “Like this. DIVE!” And she suddenly pulls her reins, flipping her pegasus over its back and pointing straight at the ground. Thanks to the pegasi and wyverns’ training, the students' mounts also flip over and dive after the lead pegasus, causing the students to exclaim with no small amount of shock. 

Ferdinand lets out a scream of pure terror as they all plummet to the ground, while Bernadetta, with the largest smile she has ever had in her life, shouts with pure join as they pull out of their dive for a low pass over the monastery grounds, their voices heard by everyone down below. 

\--------------

Edelgard is sitting in the tea garden with Dimitri across from her when they both hear what sounds like a man screaming with fear and a girl shouting with joy. They look up to see a flock of pegasi and wyverns shoot overhead, a small commotion of shouting and cheering coming from the riders. 

“I forgot that those lessons started today,” Dimitri states offhandedly, “I wonder who was shouting so loudly, though. He sounded genuinely terrified.”

“I want to say… Ferdinand?” Edelgard guesses, “I mean, it definitely sounded like him, but he’d been going on and on about these flight lessons for weeks now.”

“You never know what you like until you try it, I guess, or don’t like in this case,” Dimitri concludes, taking a sip of his tea before asking, “Have you ever considered flying?”

Unexpectedly, he observes Edelgard’s eyes as they fill with a mute fear as she shakes her head a little too quickly. Dimitri raises his eyebrow a little bit as she says, “Never in a million years,” before taking a rather shaky sip of her tea.

“Fear of heights?” Dimitri asks, which gets a very rapid series of nods from the princess. Dimitri just sighs with agreement while saying, “Yeah, I’ve always found that to be the most rational of the irrational fears.”

“Is there anything you’re afraid of?” Edelgard asks once she’s calmed herself. 

Dimitri’s eyes lower for a minute as he contemplates his answer, and says, “Sleeping. I don’t like sleeping.” 

Edelgard tilts her head and asks, “But I thought sleeping is necessary?”

“I know it is,” Dimitri says, “But, over the last several years, I have suffered from nothing but night terrors every night. I hate to admit this, but there have been nights where I don't get any sleep at all because of just how intense they can get. I just wish I could find a way to just, make it all go away.”

Dimitri sighs heavily as he droops in his seat, his left hand laying limply on the table as he rubs his eyes with his right. Has he rubs his eyes, though, he feels Edelgard grabbing his off hand and hears her say, “I know the feeling.” Dimitri looks at her with mute shock as she continues, “These last few years have been difficult for me, too. Most nights, I get woken at ridiculously early hours after suffering a fit of night terrors myself. It’s something that I’ve struggled with since my siblings all perished.”

“Oh Goddess,” Dimitri whispers, “What happened?”

“Illness,” Edelgard confirms as a few tears roll down her cheek, “The medical mages in Enbarr couldn’t identify what afflicted them, but I just remember waking up some days to learn that one sibling had died while another fell into madness. Some nights, I could hear the screams of those still alive as they suffered. It took a toll on me and my father. We were the only ones who made it out.” 

Dimitri knew there was something wrong with Edelgard’s story. ‘If you were fine, then why don’t you remember me, and why did your hair turn white. Maybe something else happened and she’s just not ready to tell me yet.’ 

Dimitri sits up straighter and says, “I never knew of this.”

“I didn’t expect you to,” Edelgard says as she wipes her tears away, “It was not something that was made known even to the Empire until only recently.”

They sit quietly for several minutes, still holding each other’s hands as they hear the flock of pegasi and wyverns fly overhead again, Ferdinand screaming, “Why did I do this?!”

This causes the two royals to burst into laughter, their fears and worries momentarily forgotten in their amusement. 

\--------------

Byleth is perusing several of the market stalls when she hears Anna call out to her, “Professor Byleth!” 

Byleth turns to find the young woman approaching her holding a few sheets of paper. “They get you on board?”

“Yep,” Anna says cheerfully, “Just let the students know I’ll have signups ready at my stall tomorrow after class is finished, and that lessons won’t begin for another few days after.”

“Excellent,” Byleth says, “I’ll be sure to let them know.”

Anna then looks around herself for a few seconds before leaning towards Byleth and asking in a low voice, “Do you have a minute, there’s something I need to show you.” 

“Um… sure,” Byelth confirms with uncertainty. Anna leads Byleth to her wagon, opening the door to allow Byleth to enter. 

The interior of the wagon is rather cramped, but incredibly well kept, the boxes of wares against the wall facing the door while Anna’s bed and clothing trunk are kept close to the left. To the right sits various tools and equipment for wilderness survival, including a cooking spit and utensils, water jugs, drying and tanning racks, a bow with an empty quiver, and a multipurpose ax. Byleth also notices beside the door not one, but three separate large lock boxes, likely filled completely with the money Anna has gotten from her sales. On the other side of the door sits another pair of lock boxes. Anna follows Byleth in and says, “Sorry it’s cramped in here, but I’ve had this old wagon for years and I haven’t been able to get a bigger one.”

“It’s no problem,” Byleth assures, “So, what did you need to show me?”

“It’s in here,” Anna says as she points to one of the smaller lock boxes, her expression now grim. She fiddles with the key and opens it, revealing a trio of daggers. However, as Byleth leans closer to look at the daggers, she sucks in a sharp breath as she immediately recognizes the shadowy blades. ‘It can’t be…’

“Those…” Byleth stammers her response, “Those are… those are cursed daggers.”

“Yes,” Anna says grimly as she pulls one of them, “I found this one on the man that attacked me yesterday. I didn’t turn it over because I wanted to show you first.” 

Byleth looks over the three blades, and bites her lip when she realizes not one of them is the one destined to kill her father. “Where did you get the other two?” She asks. 

“One of them I just found on the ground while traveling through the Hrym mountains,” Anna confirms, “The other one though…” Anna takes a deep breath before rolling up her one sleeve, revealing a nasty, branching scar, almost like a twisted tree branch, that snakes its way from her lower forearm to just above her elbow. “The other one gave me this.”

“Holy shit…” Byleth whispers with wide, fear laden eyes as she covers her mouth in shock, “How did you survive?”

“I really don’t know,” Anna says darkly, “The pain was so excruciating, I genuinely thought I was going to die that day. I did manage to kill the fucker who gave me this and take his blade, but I spent weeks in pain. I’d wake up and fall asleep at odd times, and I’d sometimes spend an entire day traveling and not even remember it. It wasn’t until I found a wandering faith mage and alchemist that I was able to get it to heal properly. He also taught me a fair amount of faith magic and alchemy should I ever need it again.”

“Does… does John know?” Byleth asks curiously. 

“It was one of the first things I showed him, actually,” Anna says as she rolls down her sleeve, “I only wear this to keep it out of the sun. It tends to burn a lot easier than the rest of my skin.” 

“Understandable,” Byelth nods before her eyes return to the cursed daggers, “What do you plan on doing with them?”

“I don’t know,” Anna says as she returns the dagger she’s holding and closes the lock box, “The wiser part of me says to turn it over to the Church, but after yesterday, I feel it would be best to keep them here.”

Byleth leans against a few other boxes as she mulls over what has been made known to her. ‘Anna has three of these daggers, and she survived getting wounded by one of them. I need to find out what spell was used to save her. But how?’

Byleth stands up straight again and says, “Thank you for showing me this. It’ll help when my students may have to face the Western Church again.”

“No problem,” Anna says, “If you need me to come with you on one of these missions, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Again, thank you,” Byleth replies, “Do you want to discuss anything else?”

Anna blushes slightly and turns away before saying, “Actually, you wouldn’t happen to have advice on contraceptive tea blends, would you?”

Byleth freezes as her eyes grow wide at what she had been asked. ‘ _ Contraceptive _ tea blends? She wants to go  _ that far already?! HAVE THEY EVEN KISSED YET?!?!?!’ _ Byleth stares at Anna for several seconds before saying, “Um… your best bet would have to be Manuela. She’s the resident doctor, so she would know best.”

“Thank you,” Anna says with a smile, “That should be everything.”

“Ok,” Byleth says as she opens the door of the wagon, “I’ll be sure to send my students to you to sign up for the lessons. Take care, and do stay safe.”

“I will professor,” Anna replies cheerily as Byelth walks out. Byleth takes a deep breath to recompose herself before returning to the armorer stall where she saw a new breastplate she liked. 

As she does so, she can hear from overhead, “This is awesome!” 

‘Wait, was that Bernadetta?’ Sure enough, as she turns her head skyward, she sees a flock of pegasi and wyverns gliding overhead, and she can just make out the young girl at the back with the largest grin she has ever seen on her. ‘Well, I guess miracles do happen.’

\--------------

Sylvain and Felix stand side by side facing Casper and Petra, all of them armed with their training weapons as they ready themselves for this sparring match. 

“You know, Felix,” Petra calls as she twists her back, “Most of our classmates think I can keep up with you. Want to test it?” 

“What is there to test?” Felix retorts as he enters a low stance, “I doubt these claims hold any value.” In truth, Felix knew that Petra would be able to keep up with him easily, but he wanted this battle to be as intense and furious as possible, and believed taunting the woman would get him what he wants.

Sylvain grins at Felix’s words, and enters a low stance himself as he says, “Hey Casper, bet you can’t knock this lance out of my hands with that pathetic ax!”

Casper gets his own grin as her and Petra enter defensive stances while declaring, “In that case, first to disarm both of their opponents wins!”

As if on cue, Sylvain and Felix charge straight at Casper and Petra, Sylvain jumping as they reach their opponents. He slashes his lance down and catches the business end of Casper’s ax, the young boy shoving the lance down as he butts Sylvains chest with the hilt, knocking him back. Felix, meanwhile, simply brings his sword for a low slash, which Petra jumps over effortlessly, until Felix snaps his sword up, intent on catching the woman from underneath. However, Felix’s sword connects with nothing as Petra seemingly disappeared. Felix quickly stands up, only to get kicked from behind by Petra as she brings her sword to bear once again.

Sylvain has better luck as he swings his lance around himself repeatedly, forcing Casper to step back further and further until the lance’s direction suddenly switches, catching the hilt of Casper’s ax and sending it across the training field. Casper raises his hands in defeat, and Sylvain says, “First to disarm wins, right?”

“Only if you get  _ both  _ opponents,” Caspers answers as he points behind Sylvain. As the red-haired man turns, he barely deflects a swipe form a sword. He quickly steps back and finds Felix’s sword in Petra’s once empty hand, the boy in question now scowling quietly off to the side of the field. 

“No fair,” Sylvain protests, “I only have one weapon.”

“I believe the saying goes ‘All is fair in care and battle,’ Petra retorts confidently as she flips her sword around.

“Petra,” Casper calls, “It’s ‘ _ love _ and  _ war _ ’, not ‘care and battle’.”

“I know what she meant,” Sylvain says as he looks back at Capser. Unfortunately, when he looks back, he doesn’t have time to react to Petra’s sudden charge as she swings both swords at Sylvains lance, almost knocking it out of his hands. His grip stays strong, though, and he steps back to deflect another blow, but they are interrupted by the sudden sound of shattering metal. Petra looks away for a brief second, but it’s enough time for Sylvain to hook his lance around both of her blades at once, and proceeds to yank them out of Petra’s grip. 

“There," Sylvain declares, “It’s over.” Petra looks between Sylvain and the swords on the ground before nodding in defeat before returning her attention to a separate duel that had happened nearby. 

They all see John, the former gatekeeper, standing in mute shock as he holds what remains of his training sword, the fragments scattered to his right, as Captain Jeralt stands triumphantly before him, his ax not even scratched. 

“Huh…” John suddenly says timidly, “I guess… this is why they call you ‘the Blade Breaker’.”

Jeralt nods and says, “I’ll admit, I may have went too far with this match, but the fact you could keep up at all impresses me.”

John stands up straight as he says, “Thank you sir!” with all the enthusiasm he could muster. 

“Well I’ll be damned,” Sylvain says, impressed, “I never thought I’d get to see the ‘Blade Breaker’ live up to his name.”

“Indeed,” Petra agrees as she picks up her and Felix’s swords, “He is most improvised.”

“‘Impressive’ Petra,” Casper corrects, causing her to blush with embarrassment, “But I agree. He put our sparring match to shame.”

“I’m not surprised,” Felix says as he begrudgingly accepts his sword from Petra, “I honestly would’ve been disappointed if John had won.”

“Oh, have a little faith in me,” John counters, “It’s not like I’ve never sparred before.”

Jeralt simply chuckles before saying, “If you had beaten me, I would’ve been disappointed in myself as well. I would have no right to be called captain or ‘Blade Breaker’ if a mear trainee beat me.” 

“Fair enough,” John says as he starts carefully picking up the pieces of his broken sword.

As the students prepare themselves for round two of their sparring match, now with Jeralt as judge, and as John dumps the sword fragments into an empty bucket to take to the blacksmith, Dorothea and Annette enter the field, walking over to the archery range for spell practice. 

Before they reach it, though, they hear a commotion overhead as a flock of wyverns and pegasi fly overhead, one of the female voices shouting, “I could do this all day!”

A male voice says, however, “Good for you, I’m ready to land!” This earns a round of laughter from everyone in the training field, including the normally unamused Felix and Jeralt. 

“Was that Bernadetta and Ferdinand shouting?” Annette asks once the flock is out of earshot and everyone’s calmed down.

Dorothea’s face is a mix of emotions, joyful that Bernadetta has found something to be passionate about, but also embarrassed for Ferdinand’s apparent distress. “It certainly seems like it. I must say, Bernie sounded like she was enjoying herself up there. I don’t think I could do it, though. The wind would just blow my hat off and make my hair a complete mess.” 

“It’s not because you have a fear of heights, is it?” Annette asks mischievously.

“Oh no, nothing like that,” Dorothea counters, “In fact,” She leans in close to Annette’s ear and whispers, “Edie’s the one that cannot handle heights at all among the Black Eagles.” This makes Annette gasp in surprise as Dorothea pulls away before continuing, “As for me, I don’t have much of an issue. In fact, about half of my performance parts at Mittlefrank involved being strung from rigging on the ceiling, usually swinging back and forth or descending from the heavens as an angel. I do feel sorry for Ferdie though. I think he has a fear of flight to overcome.”

“Are you sure it’s not just a fear of heights?” Annette asks.

“I know for certain he has no fear of height because he brought me into the Goddess tower once. Oh the view from up there,” Dorothea remembers blissfully.

“Um…” Annette starts blushing, “You two didn’t… um…”

Dorothea suddenly interrupts, “OH, heavens no. This wasn’t long after the fight in Gaspard. He just wanted to apologize for an...eh… incident that happened; although, he did try and flirt with me right after.” Dorothea gets a semi-sour expression before saying, “While I did rebuke him a little, I also told him that if he kept up his attempts, I may just have to accept a dance from him at the White Heron Competition.”

Annette breathes a small sigh of relief and says, “Thank goodness.”

They begin setting up their targets before Dorothea gets a predatory grin and asks, “How have things been between you and Felix?”

The young girl abruptly stops and blushes profusely and says, “Eh… fine?”

“Answer honestly please,” Dorothea orders.

“*Sigh* Fine,” Annette says as she turns away, “I… may have…” Her voice becomes muddled in whispers as Dorothea approaches her. 

“Just say it in my ear so no one else can hear,” Dorothea offers as she leans close to Annette. 

Annette leans close to Dorothea’s ear and whispers her answer, causing the older woman to gasp with surprise, “Really? And he…” Annette nods her confirmation as her face grows red. Dorothea’s shock turns to a more genuine smile of appreciation as she says, “Well, if you need anything at all, you know who to ask.” Dorothea returns to her target and says, “Well, enough gossip for now, I do believe we came here to train after all, so let’s train.” Annette nods a little too eagerly as they return to the firing line to begin their practice.

\--------------

_ Later that evening… _

A pillar of flame erupts in Edelgard’s room, revealing the princess in question donned in her Emperor of Flames outfit. As she removes her mask, she spots Sothis in the far wall looking concerned as she tosses the mask into the nearby trunk. 

“Are they on to us?” Sothis asks.

“Unfortunately yes,” Edelgard confirms, “They at least figured I have outside help now given how much time I’ve spent with Professor Byleth. I couldn’t come up with a convincing enough excuse for it. As for the Death Knight scheme we pulled, they seem to have bought it, though Solon said he wants to orchestrate the next phase without his assistance to ‘avoid an accident’ as he put it.”

“That only makes our work that much more difficult,” Sothis says with a sigh, “Go ahead and get out of that armor. I’m about to begin the next experiment.”

Edelgard hastily strips the armor off, her uniform slightly wrinkled but manageable underneath, and stows it away in the trunk. As she shoves the trunk under her bed, she asks Sothis, “So, you want to get everyone together in the Sword, yes?”

“Everyone I can,” Sothis confirms, “I’m going to start with the crestless students first, just to see if I can get lucky with them, before I move onto the crest bearers. I won’t test this with anyone else besides the students just to keep suspicions as low as possible.”

“Ok,” Edelgard says as she stands up, “Just introduce yourself before pulling them in.” 

“You know, Lysithea said the same thing,” Sothis replies as she leaves the room. She takes a deep breath (at least, as deep as a ghost can take), and ventures to where the one crestless student of her personal interest stayed. She enters his room to find him reading a book, and she peaks over his shoulder to find that it is about her life’s story as documented by ancient historians (quite inaccurately though), which makes her heart flutter slightly. Unfortunately for her, he pays her no mind and doesn’t even react to her presence. “Hey,” she says, “Ignatz, can you hear me?” 

Ignatz simply yawns as he closes the book and walks over to his dresser as he undoes his vest, causing Sothis to sigh deeply. “Someday, I hope,” Sothis says dejectedly, “Someday.” She then briefly attempts to pull him to the Sword, to no avail.

After further tests with Dorothea, Raphael, Leonie, Casper, Petra, Hubert, Dedue, and Ashe with identical results, she returns to Byleth’s room to deliver her findings. “None of the Crestless were affected. I’m about to begin testing the crest bearers.”

“Ok,” Byleth says while placing the Sword of the Creator on her desk, “Just be careful.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Sothis says calmly as she floats to her first test subject’s room.

\--------------

Claude pops his back as he finishes one of his late assignments. While he wouldn’t normally procrastinate on his work, Operation ‘Good at Being Bad’ had taken priority for the last few weeks, and he allowed his work to slip under his awareness at the time. Now, however, he is regretting his laziness as he looks at the last page of fifty he had to catch up on. ‘How the Hell does Hilda pull this off daily?’

He grabs the paper and looks over it; a simple questionnaire. The first question reads, “How many soldiers make up a standard wartime battalion, regardless of purpose?”

“Oh no,” he audibly groans, “The one lecture I skipped for the operation. Ok, how many…” He delves into his mind for the answer, trying his hardest to remember from a book he had read. It is just on the tip of his tongue.

“Anywhere between 300-1000 soldiers, I believe.”

“Ah, thanks,” Claude says, quickly jotting down his answer before realizing what he had heard. “Wait a minute.” He quickly turns around in his chair to find the space behind him empty when he swears he heard the voice from the Mausoleum again. “Hello?” He asks, less afraid and more curious than anything. 

“Well, you haven’t run away yet, so that’s good,” the voice says, now increasing Claude’s curiosity further. 

“Wow,” Claude says, “Guess I can tell Lorenz I told you so. Now,” He stands at his chair and asks the air, “What are you, anyway?”

“I’ll get to that in a little bit,” the voice says, “For right now, brace yourself”

“Brace mysel-” Before he can finish, Claude feels his soul getting pulled from his body and towards what he believes to be Byleth’s room. Once the pulling stops, he finds himself in an elaborate throne room, and sitting upon the throne in question is an absolutely stunning woman. 

“Good,” the woman says, “That’s one down and many more to go.” 

“Many more?” Claude asks, figuring out what’s happening a little too quickly, “You mean my classmates?”

“It’s an emergency meeting between all Crest bearing students,” the woman confirms, “I figured I would use you as my first test subject.” 

“You will answer our questions then?” Claude asks.

“Indeed,” the woman confirms before she waves her hand, sending Claude back to his body. The disembodied voice, which now sounded like a little girl, says, “Now, I have to test this on the other students, so just wait here and be patient, alright?” 

“Fine,” Claude says nonchalantly, not at all phased by this sudden turn of events, “Just don't keep me waiting too long.”

“I won’t,” the voice says cheerily before going completely silent. However, only a few seconds later, Claude can hear the same voice scream from a nearby room, “AHHHHH!! PUT A SHIRT ON!!” followed by a sudden, loud thump, which causes Claude to lose all control as he laughs hysterically. 

\--------------

Sylvain lays in a daze, his legs propped by his now knocked over chair. He sits up unsteadily as he scans the room for what he swears was a young girl. “What?” He asks deliriously. 

“I SAID PUT A SHIRT ON DAMN IT!!” The voice suddenly calls from nowhere.

Sylvain wastes no time in grabbing a shirt from his closet and buttoning it up before saying, “Alright I got one on, happy?”

Sylvain hears the voice breath a sigh of relief before saying, “Thank goodness. Brace yourself.”

“For what?” Sylvain asks, only to feel himself getting pulled out of his body and into somewhere. Once there, he is greeted by a throne room, and sees the most beautiful woman he had ever seen standing by said throne. “By the Goddess,” he says breathlessly, “Where have you been all my life?”

The woman scoffs and rolls her eyes before waving her hand and sending Sylvain back to his body. Sylvain looks around again before the young voice suddenly says with a hostile voice, “You disgust me.” Sylvain is then greeted by silence. He sighs heavily as he begins unbuttoning his shirt, damning his luck, only for the voice to suddenly screech, “AND LEAVE YOUR SHIRT ON!” Sylvains hands fly away from the buttons of his shirt as he stands in abject horror for being told off by a ghost.

\--------------

Hilda definitely heard a little girl scream, and it definitely came from Sylvains room. “Oh, that mother fucker’s gonna get it!” She says as she digs around her messy room for her dagger. 

Just as she finds it, though, she hears the same young girl’s voice say, “Don’t kill him, he’s not that kind of monster.” 

Hilda turns around to face her room, her dagger in hand, as she asks, “What? Who's there?”

“Just a ghost who went into the wrong room at the wrong time,” the voice says before Hilda feels her soul being pulled somewhere.

\--------------

Byleth stood and watched as tether after tether snaked its way to the Sword for a brief moment before snapping back like a rubber band to where it came from. ‘This is happening way too fast for her to be properly introducing herself to everyone.’ 

Byleth shakes her head as she hears forceful knocking at her door. She hesitantly opens it to find a thoroughly pissed Ingrid standing outside and just asks tiredly, “What happened?”

“May I come in?” Ingrid asks curtly, not even waiting for Byleth to give her answer as she forces her way inside. 

“Come...in?” Byleth says after the fact. Byleth shakes her head and then quickly asks, “Wait, what’s happened.” 

Ingrid doesn’t give a straight answer, but Byleth can hear her say under her breath, “I knew I should’ve gelded him when I had the chance.” 

‘Uh oh’ Byleth realizes what has Ingrid so pissed off as she also heard Sothis’s panicked cry from Sylvains room. “I think I know what has you so… angry, and I can assure you it’s a complete misunderstanding.” 

Ingrid abruptly turns around and nearly shouts, “How is Sylvain being a pedophile a misunderstanding?!”   
  


Just as she finishes, Sothis interrupts with a panicked voice, “Byleth, where’s Ingrid? She’s the last one and I can’t find her.” 

Ingrid freezes at the voice as Byleth just points at her. “Oh...OH!” Suddenly exclaims, making the blond girl jump, “I’m sorry. UH… you must be here because of what happened with Sylvain. Yeah… just a… a complete misunderstanding. Yes…”

Byleth just rubs her eyes with disappointment before saying, “Sothis, let’s just get this over with.”

“Uh… right…” Sothis says as she vanishes into the Sword. Byleth notices the Sword start glowing brightly as tether after tether reaches our and connects with it.

“Professor,” Ingrid says nervously, her eyes glued to the Sword, “What’s happening.” 

“Brace yourself,” is Byleth’s only response before being pulled into the throne room. 

\--------------

Deep within the dungeons of Garreg Mach, a pair of priests rest quietly in their cell. 

“We should be dead for what we did,” one of them says dejectedly while staring out the all too small window. 

The other priest stretches his shoulder as he says, “We should be thankful that Lady Rhea granted us mercy, Julias. I doubt the Western Church would’ve been so lenient if they heard of our confession.”

“But what will become of us, Ralph?” Julias asks, “We committed a heinous crime against the Church and we may have to face exile, or worse!”

“But we are alive,” Ralph counters, “If the Archbishop truly wanted to punish us, we would be on the block with the others.”

They sit in silence for several more minutes before they hear the footfalls of a couple people approaching, and they can just make out what they say. 

“Is the cell close?” The first voice asks. 

“Yes,” the other voice replies, “I understand your interest in them, but Lady Rhea requested they remain here until she has made a decision.”

“She already has,” the first voice replies, causing the two priests to stiffen up with trepidation, “I should be fine on my own.”

“Suit yourself,” the second voice replies, and the footfalls indicate his departure. Julias and Ralph glance at each other nervously as their cell door is unlocked and opened, revealing a gentleman wearing a black and red tunic with soft, brown eyes and lengthy brown hair. 

“Hello brother Julias, brother Ralph,” he begins, “I am Cardinal Aelfric, and I would like to make an offer to you both.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'I'M BACK BITCHES!"-Vegeta, DBZ Abridged  
> After two weeks of moving, starting a new job, and getting acclimated to the weather (because Florida is hot, y'all), I'm ready to continue this fustercluck of story. As for the surprise I mentioned, that will have to wait another week largely to avoid spoilers for the upcoming chapters. As always, criticism is welcome and I will see you all next week.
> 
> Wait... what did Anna mean by contraceptive tea blend?


	16. Straight out of Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Straight out of line  
> I can't find a reason  
> Why I should justify my ways  
> Straight out of line  
> I don't need a reason  
> You don't need to lie to me”-Godsmack

Byleth holds her head in her hand while rubbing her eyes as the students in front of her pepper Sothis with question after question. 

“What the Hell just happened?”

“Um… where are we?”

“How long have you known the Professor?”

“Why can’t you just *yawn* let me sleep?”

“J-j-just send me back. I d-don’t want to be here.” 

‘Had Sothis been any wiser, she would’ve prepared herself for this,’ Byleth thinks to herself as the overwhelmed Goddess cowers behind her throne and Edelgard tries, and fails, to get everyone to calm down. 

“Please,” Edelgard practically begs at this point, “Just one question at a time. They will all be answered.”

Unfortunately for her, her request is drowned out by the sheer volume of those in front of her. Byleth notices Claude standing off to the side looking absolutely bemused by the degrading situation in front of him while Lysithea is next to him, looking more concerned. Byleth steps behind the throne and asks Sothis, “What exactly were you expecting from all this?” 

Sothis, with a mix of fear and embarrassment, says, “I was expecting them to at least listen to me, not bombard me like they would a castle!”

Byleth just sighs and shakes her head with disappointment before saying, “At this point, there is only one thing left you could do.”

Sothis’s eyes full with clarity as she says, “Wait, do you really mean…?” Byleth nods her approval as she takes a few steps back and discreetly covers her ears. Sothis takes a deep breath before closing her eyes and raising her hand up, a faint, glowing, green aura appearing. She smirks as her chosen method completely fills the throne room with a cacophony of sound.

**“When the Winged Hussars arrived!”**

As the artificial sounding organ and drums deafen Edelgard, she somehow remains unfazed by this explosion of noise as her classmates yelp with surprise as it annihilates their ears. After a few seconds of this, the music stops as abruptly as it began while Sothis emerges from behind the throne, saying, “Good. If things get out of hand like that again, I’ll have to bring out something louder.”

Everyone, besides Edelgard and Byleth, groans with pain as they rub their abused ears, a few throwing spiteful glares at the trio of women by the throne, among them Sylvain who asks, “Just what the Hell is a ‘Winged Hussar’ anyway?”

“That’s besides the point,” Sothis replies with a frown, “I’m sure all of you are confused as to what has happened, and we will answer your questions to the best of our ability, but I ask that all of you please remain calm, and to not ask over each other like you just did.”

Dimitri, still nursing his ears, asks, “Just who are you, anyway?”

Byleth and Edelgard now glare at Sothis for failing to introduce herself properly to everyone as requested, but she ignores them as she answers, “I am Sothis, the Progenitor Goddess of Fodlan.” 

Several students, mostly the Blue Lions, gasp at this announcement, while the rest snap out of their pain and stare directly at Sothis. She suddenly feels self conscious from the attention as Linhardt asks, “If you’re the Goddess, then why do you sound like a little girl when…” he falters slightly as he searches for the right words and points to the doors at the far end, “We are... out… there?”

“Allow me to explain,” Sothis says, and thus begins giving the explanation of what has happened since the beginning of the year, omitting anything that had to do with Edelgard’s true goals, nature, and any mention of TWSITD as well as the whole multiple timelines issue Byleth had to go through. She also takes care to give a false explanation of how she could communicate with Edelgard in the first place, saying it had to do with her Crest of Seiros. While Lysithea does tilt her head at this, she doesn’t say anything that could expose the truth in an unwanted way. 

“When Byleth grabbed the Sword from the Death Knight, that explosion of power you all felt was my soul binding to the weapon,” she states, “I will say, though, I was not expecting to be able to speak with all of you like this.”

All the students spend a few minutes in silence as they drink in what had been explained. Sothis notices Dimitri staring at Edelgard suspiciously, though the princess herself fails to notice. He shakes his head and asks Byleth, “So… why did you feel it necessary to keep this hidden for so long?”

“Because you wouldn’t have believed us,” Byleth answers, “Would you have believed me if I said ‘I have the spirit of the Goddess trapped in my head’ a few months ago?” Dimitri shakes his head before she continues, “Exactly. I kept her hidden because I knew everyone would just think I’m crazy if I said anything, not to mention what would happen if Lady Rhea found out.”

“She has a point,” Claude says, drawing everyone’s attention, “The minute Rhea finds out about this, the entire Monastery would get flipped upside down.”

“Worse still,” Lysithea adds, “If this gets announced to all of Fodlan, Byleth would likely get swarmed by the nobility trying to gain her favor, and I seriously doubt that even the Church could fend them off for very long.”

“And then there’s the  _ Western _ Church,” Ingrid says, “If they find out, Byleth would just have a target on her back, either to kidnap her, or kill her.”

“Hence why I ask that none of you breathe a word of this to anyone,” Sothis requests, “Byleth is the only one in the world that can use the Sword. If she gets hurt or worse, I might very well get trapped in here with nowhere to go.”

“So we are in the sword,” Sylvain suddenly says, “It’s actually quite nice in here.”

“I do agree,” Ferdinand adds, “It certainly puts Enbarr’s throne room to-,” Edelgard glares at him before he says, “I’m sorry.”

Bernadetta’s eyes dart from person to person, her legs quaking as she asks, “W-w-what do… w-we do now?”

“For now, we just have to play everything by ear,” Byleth answers gently, “We don’t know what the Western Church will do now that they failed to secure the body of Saint Seiros. Our only option is to wait and see what they do.”

“ _ If _ they do anything,” Felix corrects, “In my father's last letter he said the Western Church is being hunted down by the Kingdom as we speak. I know some of them will likely seek refuge in the Empire, but they won’t have any sizable influence for some time.”

The students all start to murmur among each other for a few minutes while Sothis takes a seat on her throne. Byleth and Edelgard step behind said throne and have a whispered conversation. 

“Do you tell them now?” Byleth asks quietly. 

“No,” Edelgard says, “I’m not ready.”

“Then when will you be ready?” 

Edelgard bites her lip and whispers, “I don’t know. Just give me time.”

Byleth just shakes her head and says, “You can’t wait forever. This has to happen soon, or we’ll miss our chance.”

Edelgard clenches her fist and looks away, swearing silently as she realizes just how little time she has left. She turns back to Byleth and says, “One at a time. I don’t think I can tell them all at once without falling apart.”

“Then who will be first?” 

“Hubert,” Edelgard confirms, “He already knows the original plan, but I’ve yet to tell him that things have changed. After him….” Edelgard stops and contemplates who would be told next, “I… I’ll let Claude know what’s going on. He seems level headed enough to handle the truth far better than anyone else. Dimitri will be last before we gather everyone together.”

“Why tell Dimitri last?” Byleth asks as she tilts her head. 

“Because I’m worried about how he will react,” Edelgard whispers with a worried tone, “You’ve seen him in battle, and I learned today that he suffers from sleep deprivation. If he gets the wrong idea when I tell him the truth, then there’s a good chance he would kill me.”

“Tell him everything,” Byleth says, “If he knows everything that has happened to you that led to your original decisions, then I’m sure he will at least give you a chance.”

“Will he?” Edelgard asks, her eyes filled with worry as a single tear rolls down her cheek.

Byleth subtly tilts her head and asks, “What’s wrong?” 

Edelgard wipes her face and looks at her hand before saying, “I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, in front of the throne, Dimitri and the Blue Lions who are here have a quiet conversation of their own.

“There is something else they are not telling us,” Dimitri begins, “I’m worried what it might be.”

“What do you mean?” Mercedes asks.

“What I mean is that there is more to their story than what they said,” Dimitri confirms, “Earlier today, I spoke with Edelgard about the nightmares I’ve been having, and she claimed to be suffering in a similar way, but her explanation didn’t sit right with me.”

“What about it seemed off to you?” Felix asks.

“She claimed her siblings died of an unidentifiable illness,” Dimitri says, “While the explanation may hold some merit concerning the rapid disappearance of the Hresvelg family, what I found strange is that she claims she was unaffected. If that is the case, then why is her hair white, and why would she still be suffering nightmares now when the last reported death within her family was years ago.”

“How would you know what her hair color is supposed to be?” Annette asks with an accusatory tone.

Felix pulls Annette close and whispers in her ear, “Because she and Dimitri knew each other at one point.” Annette gasps at this revelation while Mercedes tilts her head in confusion, until Felix whispers the same thing to her and earns yet another gasp of shock.

“If Felix told you what I think he did,” Dimitri says with a small sigh, “Tell no one else. It’s the reason Sylvain pinned him against a wall a couple months ago, in fact.”

“Yeah,” Sylvain says as he scratches his head awkwardly, “Never did get the chance to apologize for that.”

“I deserved it,” Felix replies as he bows his head, “I went too far out of line that day and likely would’ve ruined Dimitri’s relationship if I had said anything.” 

Ingrid, who had been quiet for most of the whispered talk, suddenly perks at what Felix just said. She looks at him with confusion as she says, “Did.... did you just… call Dimitri by his actual name and not ‘boar’?”

“Don’t ruin it Ingrid,” Felix says with his usual scowl, “I’m trying to be sincere with them for once.” This earns a round of quiet laughter from the other Blue Lions as Ingrid hangs her head with silent shame.

Meanwhile, the three Black Eagles, Ferdinand, Bernadetta, and Linhardt have another conversation. 

“This is ridiculous,” Ferdinand says, “Of all the things to happen this year, the Goddess’s return was not what I had in mind.”

“And the fact that the Goddess found favor with Edelgard, as well,” Linhardt adds, “You would think she would’ve stood by the Church that honors her than the Empire that opposes her.”

“I-it might have t-to do with… the l-lack of faith in the Empire,” Bernadetta stutters, her composure unstable due to the unfamiliar surroundings, “M-maybe by working with the p-princess, she could restore the faith l-lost.” 

“Maybe,” Ferdinand says as he holds his chin, “Then again, there might be something else going on that the Goddess needs Edelgard’s help in solving. But why confront us now, though?”

“I’m more than willing to bet they never intended for us to know,” Linhardt theorizes, “You were in the tomb, right?”

“Yeah,” Ferdiand confirms, “It just sounded like a little girl had spoken out of nowhere and then everyone started panicking a little. I did find it odd how Byleth and Edelgard remained so calm, but now we know.”

Bernadetta shivers slightly as the memories of the tomb replay in her mind, and says, “I j-just hope that, w-whatever happens… it’s for the better.”

Linhardt grunts in agreement while Ferdinand nods at the young girl and says, “I certainly hope so as well.”

Meanwhile, with the Golden deer…

“I’m honestly looking forward to seeing how this goes,” Claude says with a cheeky grin, “Between the Goddess herself speaking with us all and the Church having no idea what’s going on between us, we could be in for one Hell-of-a ride.”

Lorenz shares a similar grin as he says, “Yes indeed, though I do worry just how her return could affect the relations between each of the nations in Fodlan.”

“I just hope whatever happens doesn’t require too much effort,” Hilda says as she yawns. 

“You hardly put forth any effort at all,” Lysithea says with her trademark glare.

“I do put forth effort,” Hilda retorts, “I just put forth enough to get by.”

“That doesn't seem efficient, Hilda,” Lorenz counters, “It’s one thing to be comfortable for your entire life, but to actually make something worthwhile requires far more than simply ‘just enough’.”

“Oh, come on,” Hilda cries with annoyance, “Mari, you understand, right?”

Marianne looks away nervously as she rubs her arms and says, “Um… I think… they’re right, Hilda.”

Hilda’s eyes are filled with shock as her friend shifts further away from her gaze, as Hilda suddenly cries out, “Not you too!!” This brings everyone’s attention to her as she says, “I can’t be that bad!”

“Hilda,” Sothis calls, drawing the pink haired girl's attention, “I hate to say this, but you really do need to make an effort. I’ve seen your room, and your work, and I’m sure Byleth has spoken to you about your lack of responsibility.” 

“NOOOOOOO!!!” Hilda cries as she collapses to the ground, her face buried in her arms as Marianne kneels next to her and strokes her back gently. Lysithea and Lorenz just facepalm with secondhand embarrassment from the display as Claude just shakes his head with disappointment. “Even the Goddess is against me….” Hilda says with a muffled voice. 

Byleth and Edelgard emerge from behind the throne and the Professor says, “Hilda, if you’re done being dramatic, we’d like to wrap things up here and get back to the outside world.”

Hilda is helped up by Marianne and steps away as Sothis says, “Again, all I ask is that none of you say anything to anyone without my consent. And if you do have to tell someone what’s going on, make sure they don’t tell anyone else either. The last thing we need is for Rhea to come breathing down Byleth or Edelgard’s necks and compromising me.”

Everyone nods with agreement as Sothis gives a small grin of appreciation to everyone gathered. “Unless you have any more questions, you can exit through the doors at the back,” Byleth says, and almost immediately, Hilda, Marianne, and Bernadetta dart over to the doors in question. Bernadetta touches the door first, and she simply vanished from sight, and is followed by Hilda and Marianne at the same time. The rest of the students follow suit, the last one, Dimitri, looking back and giving Edelgard a concerned look before taking his leave as well. 

Sothis slumps on her throne with a heavy sigh as she says, “Finally. It’s over.”

“I’d say that went well,” Byleth states, “Could’ve been smoother at the beginning, but we can’t hope for perfection every time.”

“Yeah,” Edelgard replies quietly, her eyes still locked on the door, “I just hope, whatever comes of this, it’s for the better.”

“I agree,” Sothis says as she steps off her throne, “You two best get some sleep for the night. I need to check a few things on my own.”

“Ok,” Byleth replies as she walks to the door with Edelgard, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Yes,” Edelgard’s confirms, “Goodnight professor.” Edelgard grabs the door handle and gets pulled back to her body. She takes several seconds to readjust to herself before she feels something wet on her cheek. She wipes her face and checks in her mirror to find several fresh tears had fallen while she was in the throne room. Her eyes drop as a forlorn expression takes over, and her eyes drift to the drawer with her dagger. She hesitantly reaches her hand out to open it and finds the dagger just where she left it. No new vision plays in her head nor causes a migraine as it had before, but she feels her heart become heavy as she stares at the weapon. ‘It… it can’t be Dimitri… can it?’ 

\--------------

_ A few weeks later… _

“And those are the reasons why you should never send a pegasus or wyvern rider against an archer,” Byleth concludes just as the last bell for the day sounds. Her students all rise from their seat and start collecting their paperwork as Cyril, her newest student, approaches her desk. 

“Excuse me Professor,” he says, “I was wondering if I would have to make up any work from the past few months at all?”

Byleth shakes her head gently and says, “I’m not going to make you. Three months of work all at once is far too much for someone to catch up on in a short period of time, especially for someone in your situation. However, I do wish for you to continue your Archery training with Shamir before the next mission, which I expect you to join.”

“I understand Professor,” Cyril replies before rushing to join Lysithea by the door. They share a few brief words before they begin making their way to the library. Byleth remains in her classroom and organizes several of her papers before she hears her name being called. 

“Professor Byleth,” the voice calls. Byleth looks up and sees Hubert standing by the doorway, his expression neutral, though Byleth can tell from his stiff stance that he is apprehensive. 

“Yes Hubert?” She replies. 

“Do you mind if we speak somewhere private? I have a few things I need to ask.” He says, his eyes glancing around her room. Byleth can tell he’s nervous. 

“Do you have anywhere in mind?” Byleth replies as she stows her remaining papers away. 

Hubert mulls over his choices before saying, “The tea garden. No one should be there today.”

“Very well,” Byleth replies, “I’ll follow you.” 

\--------------

“I swear, that girl has a thing for Cyril,” Claude says as he watches Lysithea run off with the boy in question.

“I have no doubt that she sees something in him that even she might not see yet,” Lorenz observes as they enter the training field, “Perhaps if he’s willing to listen, I could give him advice on how to win her over.”

“Advice from you?” Hilda asks as she mock-gags in response, “Please. He’d have better luck with Sylvain’s advice, and Lysithea is immune to his advances, even more so now since he got his ass whooped by Ingrid.”

“Oi!” Sylvain exclaims from nearby, “Have a little respect.” 

Hilda giggles as Leonie rolls her eyes dismissively at this and says, “Oh, quit your gossiping. It doesn’t make us any better warriors to talk about people behind their back.”

“Ok then,” Hilda responds with an evilly mischievous glint in her eyes, “In that case, then what are your feelings about Raphael?”

“A-what?!” Leonie exclaims, her face flush with red as she reels back from the question. “What in the Hell are you barking about?!”

Hilda gets an evil grin as their friends slowly back away from what’s about to happen, “Oh… it’s just the two of you have spent quite some time together, and I was just curious about how you’ve been.”

“Watch it, Goneril,” Leonie seethes with anger, “I won’t hesitate to snap you in half if I need to.”

Everyone steps further back as Hilda finally says, “Bring it on then.” And thus, the cat fight of Garreg Mach began. Claude, Lorenz, and the other students in the training grounds watch as Hilda and Leonie demonstrate surprising adept grappling techniques, not once actually throwing punches at each other. As they tussle, their hand-to-hand combat instructor, Anna, enters and observes as the fight begins to subside with Hilda getting repeatedly pinned by the far superior Leonie.

“If you apologize now, I might spare your life,” Leonie says with a more playfully evil smile. 

“Fine,” Hilda says calmly, “I’m sorry.” Leonie let’s the pink haired girl go as Anna approaches them. 

“Not bad,” Anna praises, “While I do advise against throwing insults before a match, you both certainly can hold your own if you need to.”

Claude chuckles as he walks to the bow rack, but suddenly realizes something when he watches one of the many duels between Dimitri and Ferdinand. More specifically, that their lances are actual lances and not the dull training lances like before. ‘Oh yeah, we can start using the real stuff now.’ He discretely leaves the training ground to get his enchanted bow as Anna begins demonstrating a few new fighting techniques. He hasn’t been able to use the enchantment effectively in the previous two missions due to the nature of both battlefields, but he expected the next mission, whatever it is, to allow him an opportunity to use it to full effect. On top of that, they are all now permitted to use  _ real  _ weapons in the training grounds, and he planned to take full advantage of it. 

As he walks down the courtyard, he suddenly spots Byleth following a rather stiff Hubert. ‘What have we here?’ He discretely follows his Professor as his curiosity is piqued by this development. He thanks his lucky stars that Byleth isn’t as perspective as she thinks she is as they enter the garden, and he stays behind a hedge while he quietly listens to their conversation. 

\--------------

Byleth stands cautiously close to the entrance of the tea garden as Hubert turns to look at her, visible distrust in his eyes. “How much do you know? About princess Edelgard and what she plans to do?”

Byleth quickly catches on and responds, “That depends on what there is to know. I can only assume that Edelgard has told you what  _ you _ need to know if you are confronting me like this.”

“Is it true then?” Hubert asks quietly, “That the princess has befriended the Goddess and earned her favor?”

“In a way,” Byleth confirms, “I’ve known Sothis for far longer than Edelgard and she knows it. Sothis befriended her more to guide her on a better path that could benefit everyone.”

“And what benefit would it be if the Church remains standing?” Hubert asks as his mood sours, “We have spent years preparing for the fall of the Church. To suddenly abandon it so soon-,”

“I’ve seen far more than anyone in this academy would ever want to see,” Byleth interrupts with a quiet whisper. Hubert notices that her eyes are closed as a single tear rolls down her cheek, “I’ve done things that even my own father doesn't know about because, if I told him, he would break. What Sothis and I are doing is ensuring that  _ everyone  _ can at least hope for a peaceful future, and I never said anything about the Church remaining the same.”

“And how would you go about that?” Hubert asks. 

“Why do you think we gathered everyone together for the missions? Why do you think all the crest bearers are spending so much time together now?” Byleth opens her eyes and stares directly at Hubert, “It’s one thing to confront the Church on your own, it’s another thing to have the entire region against it.”

Hubert clenches his fist behind his back before taking a deep breath and releasing some of the tension within himself, saying, “I’m not for this new plan that the Princess has, but I won’t actively work against it. Just promise me one thing.”

“And what could that be?” Byleth asks gently. 

“If the worst comes and the Church cannot be reformed,” Hubert pauses as his eyes lock directly with Byleth’s eyes, “Stand by her, because she will fall to madness if you don’t.”

\--------------

Claude steps away from the tea garden, his expression dark. Gone was his trademark smile, gone was the mischievous glint in his eyes; only darkness remained as he walked. Several maids and servants look his way, their eyes filled with worry as Claude’s current mood didn’t fit him at all. He hears his name get called by several of his classmates, but he ignores them. He simply focuses on walking to his room and locking his door once he’s inside. 

\--------------

Sothis had watched Byleth and Hubert talking to each other, and noticed at the last minute Claude sneaking away from the conversation. Her invisible eyes fill with concern as she follows him to his room, and watches as he locks his door. ‘Oh crap,’ she thinks to herself, ‘Welp, here goes nothing.’ She enters his room effortlessly and is greeted by the sight of him throwing away a number of sheets of paper before collapsing into his bed, facing the window. Sothis discretely inspects the sheets to find poorly written love poems and letters for Byleth. Sothis audibly balks at some of the cheesier lines, but doesn’t bring herself to insult them. 

“If you’re in here Sothis,” Claude whispers emotionlessly, “Don’t hide yourself.”

“*Sigh*, How much did you hear?” Sothis asks calmly. 

“Enough,” Claude replies. 

Sothis moves over to the other side of his bed and finds his eyes seemingly vacant, staring at nothing. “Listen,” Sothis begins, “I know what you heard is a smack in the face for you, but I can help explain-,”

“I don’t want to hear it from you,” Claude interrupts, his voice flatter than Jeritza’s, “I need to hear it from the princess herself. This is her plan after all.”

“And… Byleth?” Sothis asks quietly, her voice filled with worry.

Claude simply closes his eyes and seemingly ignores the question, though Sothis can tell several tears are forming in his eyes. Sothis looks away and approaches the door before saying, “I understand how you feel, I get it. To hear someone you care about discuss something as preposterous as overthrowing the Church and giving their support to someone else is rough, but I can safely tell you that Byleth is only doing this because she cares an awful lot about her students, you especially. She isn’t lying when she says she’s seen and done things that would drive even her father mad, but that’s why she’s here now, so you don’t have to face what she has.” Sothis simply leaves Claude’s room and begins hunting for Edelgard to tell her what’s happened. 

\--------------

“Hey Felix?” Annette asks as they walk down the road of the town. After class had ended, she and Felix agreed to spend some time together and have only just arrived at the town. Felix is moderately reluctant to not spend his time training, but Annette’s pleading eyes made his heart flutter in a way it never had, and he couldn’t say no to her request. 

“Yes?” He replies calmly. 

“I’ve been curious about this,” she begins, “But do you mind telling just what happened to Dimitri that made you start calling him ‘Boar.” 

“*Sigh* I guess,” Felix says, “You saw him in the Mausoleum, right?”

“Yeah,” Annette shudders as the memory replays in her mind, “I asked Ingrid about it but she directed me to you. She said that you saw the first time he fell to his…” Annette’s voice fails as she searches for the right word. 

“Bloodlust,” Felix confirms, “Two years ago, Dimitri and I, as well as a selection of soldiers and knights, went out west to quell a rebellion that had been brewing since the Tragedy of Duscur. Dimitri led the initial charge, but…” He closes his eyes and turns his head away as the memory returns to plague his mind; phantom sounds of a lance tearing through flesh, cries of fallen soldiers being ripped apart, the scent of sweat and blood flooding his nostrils as he watched his friend turn into a monster. “All I can safely say, is what you saw in the Mausoleum, is only a fraction of what he’s capable of.”

Annette’s expression drops as she, too, looks away as an instinctual fear slowly fills her heart. Felix notices her decomposing countenance and gently drapes his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. Annette gasps inaudibly as a small blush creeps up on her face as her head snaps back to Felix, greeted by a surprisingly gentle smile. 

“For all that he’s done, though,” Felix says, “For all the trouble I’ve given him, he’s still the prince. The reason Sylvain, Ingrid and I still stand by him is so he doesn’t fall down the path of madness. The kingdom still needs him to inherit the throne, and what good would he be if he loses himself.”

Annette stares in quiet shock for a few seconds before she gets a small smile on her face and she nods at Felix. She returns her eyes to the road ahead as she leans against Felix, which in turn causes Felix to also blush slightly as he holds her close.

\--------------

Edelgard shivers fearfully in her room, Sothis’s expression forlorn after telling her what happened with Claude. “You need to tell him now,” Sothis pleads, “We can’t wait on this anymore.”

“I know,” Edelgard shakily replies, “But… what should I say?”

“Tell Claude everything,” Sothis says, “I cannot say what he will do now that he’s as compromised as he is, but the sooner you tell him the truth, the faster he’ll recover, and the less likely he’ll tell Dimitri before you’re ready to tell him.”

Edelgard takes a few nervous breaths before she says, “Ok. Pull me in.” Edelgard feels her soul getting pulled to the Sword in Byleth’s room, and she enters the throne room with little difficulty. 

Sothis is there as well, but she says, “Ok, I’ll get Claude, you just wait here for a second.”

\--------------

Claude still rests listlessly in his bed, weighing his options as to whether or not he should tell Dimitri or anyone else what he discovered. ‘If he learns the truth, it could mean the end of Fodlan. Then again, what do I have to lose at this point.’ 

“Hey,” Sothis’s voice calls out, though Claude hardly reacts with a short grunt of acknowledgement. “Edelgard wants to talk to you. Are you ready?”

Claude sighs heavily before dragging himself to his feet as he says, “Might as well. She’d better have a good explanation for what I heard.”

“She will,” Sothis responds, and Claude feels his soul getting pulled away towards the Sword in Byleth’s room. Once in the throne room, he throws a glare at the princess waiting for him by the throne. 

“Listen Claude,” Edelgard begins, “I’ve been mean-,” but before she can continue, Claude raises his hand to silence her. 

“I don’t want excuses,” Claude whispers with seething hatred, causing Edelgard and Sothis to shiver fearfully, “I want answers. If I don’t like what I have to hear, I will tell Dimitri what I already know and let you sort him out yourself. If you can convince me to remain quiet about this, then you have my word on that.”

Edelgard worriedly glances at Sothis who simply gestures towards Claude, and the princess takes a deep breath before stepping forward and explaining everything that has happened. 

\--------------

Dorothea, Ingrid, Mercedes, and a somewhat reluctant Bernadetta are sitting near the town’s tavern, with them several women from the town who had been led on by Sylvain in the past. 

“He hasn’t done anything outright recently,” one of the town’s women says, “If anything, he’s been avoiding us.”

“I fully expect it,” Dorothea says, “After what Ingrid did to him and the other two women tried to do to him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he avoided the town for the rest of the year.”

“Still,” another woman says with a heavy sigh, “It’s a shame he’s as licentious as he is. I know there has to be a good man within him somewhere.”

“I know there is, too,” Ingrid confirms, “When he’s not chasing skirts, he’s dedicated to the friends he has, and understands that, once he graduates, he will have to take over as Margrave some day. I just needed to remind him why we came to the monastery in the first place.”

“Say,” the first woman says, “You’ve known him for a while. Why don’t you try putting a leash on him?”

“I’m not treating him like a dog,” Ingrid replies, now irritated, “While, yes, I did do unspeakable things to him with a lance, I still see him as one of the most invaluable friends I have.” 

The first woman rolls her eyes at how dense Ingrid is as the other town’s women giggle. “Whatever you say,” she responds, “Just don’t get mad once he’s taken.”

“What do you mean taken?” Ingrid asks with confusion as the giggling turns to hearty laughter. 

Once the women calm down and Ingrid sits thoroughly confused, the first woman turns to Dorothea and asks, “Do you have your eyes on anyone in particular?”

“I know several people who definitely have their eyes on me,” Dorothea says pridefully, “But I’m not actively seeking anything. My focus right now is getting enough experience here before I graduate. Who knows, though, maybe I’ll get lucky and snag someone before I do.”

One of the other women says, “I’ve seen Ferdiand giving you some looks lately. Perhaps he’s interested.”

Dorothea gets a contemplative frown and says under her breath, “Well, he did bring me to the Goddess Tower that day....” She rubs her chin slightly as she remembers that day in the Goddess Tower. 

\--------------

_ Dorothea takes in the incredible sight from atop the Goddess Tower; the sprawling forests that surround Garreg Mach, the people of the monastery moving from place to place as the day ends, the golden light of the setting sun.  _

_ “This is beautiful,” Dorothea says breathlessly as she turns back briefly to Ferdinand before looking back out the window.  _

_ “Figured you’d like it,” Ferdinand replies, “But… it’s not the reason I brought you here.” _

_ “Really?” Dorothea tilts her head in confusion as she looks at Ferdinand, his stance shifting left to right nervously. “What do you need then?” _

_ “I… wanted to apologize for… uh…” _

_ Ferdinand is obviously unsure of what to say, so Dorothea makes a guess and says, “Oh… you mean last week in Gaspard. I mean, I can hardly blame you for groping me accidentally when that fireball came at us, so I don’t mind.” _

_ “Well,” Ferdinand scratches his head awkwardly as the memory replays in his head, “Yeah there’s that. I just barely remember it after knocking myself silly against that tree,” This yields a gentle laugh from Dorothea before he says, “But… there’s something else I need to apologize for.” _

_ Dorothea becomes concerned as she asks, “What for, then?” _

_ “This happened years ago,” Ferdinand begins as he avoids her eyes, “In Enbarr, I had been walking through the city late at night after visiting Casper and Linhardt at the Hevring city estate, and I happened upon one of the city fountains, when…” Ferdinand blushes profusely before he says, “I… saw a girl… bathing in the fountain….” _

_ Dorothea’s eyes grow wide as she asks, “Wait… d-do you mean…” _

_ “I wasn’t certain for a while,” Ferdinand says as he bows his head shamefully, “But… I’m convinced… that girl was you.”  _

_ Ferdinand closes his eyes, fully expecting Dorothea to either slap or punch him as she starts turning red with a combination of shame and anger. He bows further as he says, “I never meant to find you like that. I don’t even know if you can forgive me for it. All I can say now, is I’m sorry.” _

_ Dorothea is at a complete loss for words. Part of her wanted to strangle the noble, part of her wanted to run away and leave the monastery in shame. But she forces herself to calm down, taking several deep breaths as she takes time to think, and then says, “Thank you.” _

_ Ferdinand recoils in shock at what he heard, exclaiming, “What?!” _

_ “Thank you for your honesty,” Dorothea replies, a gentle smile returning to her face, “When you saw me like that, I was at the lowest point of my life. My mother was dead, my father abandoned me, and I had nowhere else to go at that time. I’ve grown since then, and can not feel more blessed than I do now since I started building my life. This happened years ago, as you said, and while I am ashamed and angry that you found me like that, I can still forgive you because, just like last week, it was an accident that couldn’t be avoided.”  _

_ Ferdinand is at a complete loss for words as he stares at the songstress. He rubs his eyes in disbelief before saying, “If I’m honest, I fully expected you to strangle me or even knock me senseless for it.” _

_ “Oh don’t get me wrong,” Dorothea says with an evil smirk, “Part of me still wants to throw you out of the Tower, but then you wouldn’t be the only one in trouble.” _

_ “Yeah,” Ferdinand replies awkwardly as he looks away while scratching his head, “I just wanted to… well….”  _

_ Dorothea tilts her head as she notices a new blush forming on his face, “Don’t tell me you’re trying to win me over by being honest like this.” _

_ “Ah…” Ferdinand continues to avoid her eyes and says quietly, “I mean… you certainly are beautiful… but… I’d figured after telling you the truth you’d want nothing to do with me.” _

_ “Ferdie,” Dorothea steps towards the young noble, taking his hand in hers, drawing his attention while turning his face a deeper shade of red, “You had no reason to tell me the truth and yet you did. All that tells me,” she leans closer to whisper in his ear, “Is that you really do care about me.” She leans back to look him in the eye as she continues, “I won’t say I’m interested yet, but if you can keep this up, then maybe I’ll accept a dance from you at the White Heron Competition. Deal?” _

_ Ferdinand nods his head with a small grin as he replies, “Deal.” _

\--------------

Dorothea shakes her head and says, “I’ll have to wait and see about him. He isn’t as bad as Sylvain or Lorenz, but he is still a little full of himself at times. If you have the time and patients, ask him about his duels against the prince.”

“He duels the prince?” One of the women asks with slight shock.

“It’s only friendly duels,” Mercedes corrects, “They often leave exhausted but uninjured, so it’s nothing to be concerned about.”

The women shrug their shoulders before the first one asks, “If you don’t mind me asking, do you have your eyes on anyone?”

“Well,” Mercedes blushes profusely as she looks away, “I… might be…”

Dorothea perks up at this development and asks, “Oh? Why haven’t I heard of this?” She leans closer to Mercedes as the poor woman backs away fearfully, “And who did you say you were seeing?”

“Um……Ashe?” Mercedes responds nervously as Dorothea’s gaze becomes predatory.

“Really?” Dorothea says as their friends give interested looks of their own, “And just how long has this been going on?”

“Uuuuhhhh….” Mercedes’ composure deteriorates significantly when she suddenly says, “Maybe we should ask Bernadetta if  _ she’s _ got her eyes on…. wait. Where’d she go?”

All of the women look around and notice the purple haired girl had gone missing. Now no longer interested in Mercedes personal life, Dorothea calls out, “Bernie?”, but gets no immediate response.

\--------------

As the women were gossiping about who was seeing who, Bernadetta had spotted Felix and Annette walking down the road, with Felix’s arm draped around Annette’s shoulders. Bernadetta dared to allow a small smile on her face as she watched the young couple, but she suddenly noticed something that concerned her. There was an older man, maybe mid thirties, that was also watching the couple. What worried Bernadetta more, though, was that this man was also following them. Although he tried to appear discrete, he obviously had ill intent as he held a dagger behind his back.

‘Oh no…’ Bernadetta knew what this man wanted to do. In all likelihood, he would try and kill or injure Felix and take Annette away, or maybe it was the other way around. She had noticed his gaze seemed more fixated on Felix, and the shape of his trousers, though it made her blush profusely to see it, let her know just who he was really interested in. As her friends cornered Mercedes, Bernadetta made her decision, and began following the older man. Felix and Annette are unaware of who’s behind them, and the older man is also unaware of Bernadetta following him. ‘Unperceptive, good.’

‘Wait… why am I doing this?’ Bernadetta suddenly realizes that she is going way out of her comfort zone. She is about to face a potential kidnapper head on, and she has no weapon nor means of defense.

Felix and Annette turn down one of the empty roads that lead back to the Monastery, and Bernadetta watches as the man suddenly stiffens slightly. ‘He’s about to make his move.’ Bernadetta’s demons told her to run, that this wasn’t her problem. That she should’ve stayed at the tavern and gossiped with the other women of the town. They told her she would likely die, get injured, or worse. 

Bernadetta’s world became narrow, as he vision focused solely on the wicked man in front of her. She gnarled her teeth and her expression turned to one of hate driven determination. ‘He won’t lay a finger on my friends!’ 

Just as he prepares to run at Felix, Bernadetta sprints right at him, using her smaller form to drive her shoulder into his hip, and gets surprised by how easily she knocks him over. 

\--------------

Felix stops and looks back to find an empty road. ‘I could’ve sworn I heard something.’

Annette suddenly looks back as well as a sudden chill rolls down her back, “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Felix says with uncertainty, “I think it would be best if we didn’t stay, though.” Annette nods readily as they start running out of the town toward the Monastery. 

\--------------

Bernadetta quickly jumps to her feet as the dazed man before her slowly returns to his senses. She risks a glance down the road and sees Felix and Annette sprinting out of the town. ‘Good, they’ll be safe.’

Unfortunately, she had a new problem to face. The older man stood imposingly over her, his expression twisted into one of pure malice directed at the young girl. Bernadetta takes a few steps back as the man says, “So, you thought you can just run up and ruin my day, did you?”

Bernadetta’s foot hits something, and she glances down to see the man’s dagger, which she quickly grabs and enters a defensive stance she learned from Hubert. “You were going to hurt my friends, so yes, I figured ruining your day would be better than theirs,” she retorts with a surprising amount of confidence, her glare baring into his soul. 

The old man was unfazed by this, and simply says, “Well, I have no choice but to ruin-,” Before he can finish, someone from behind whacks a glass bottle against his head with a loud, hollow thunk and an audible crack from his skull. He falls to the ground in a heap, revealing a rather pissed, and surprisingly sober, Manuela standing triumphantly. 

“Hmph,” the former songstress kicks his leg aside and throws her half full liquor bottle in the ground next to him, shattering the bottle as she walks past, saying, “ _No one_ messes with my students.”

Bernadetta’s adrenaline starts to subside as the reality of the situation reaches her. ‘I stood up to him, and saved my friends.’ Bernadetta starts shaking as the dagger falls from her hand and she drops to her knees, tears falling freely from her eyes. Manuela drops to her knees and takes the young girl in her arms, which Bernadetta reciprocates as sobs overwhelm her. 

“It’s alright dear,” Manuela whispers comfortingly, “It’s going to be alright.”

“Bernie!” Dorothea calls out as she turns a corner, spotting Manuela embracing the young girl. She sprints towards them as Ingrid, Mercedes, and the town’s women also turn the corner. Dorothea drops to her knees and quickly asks, “What happened?”

Manuela loosens her grip on Bernadetta as the young girl explains through choked sobs and stutters, leaving her friends largely in shock more at her boldness than the actual incident. Once Bernadetta finishes, Manuela adds, “I had come to town to get rid of what's left of my liquor collection, and the liquor store wouldn’t take my half full bottle. I stepped out just as I saw Bernadetta knock the man over, and I knew she wouldn’t have done it without good reason. I waited for him to stand up before I knocked him out.” Manuela briefly looks over at the man before saying, “Although, I might need to save him before he dies from the trauma.” She lets Dorothea take hold of a still tearful Bernadetta as she inspects the man’s wound. 

Bernadetta’s sobbing has subsided, and she now looks at the man that would’ve attacked Felix and Annette. She looks away fearfully before Dorothea says, “You did a good thing, Bernie. You don’t need to be afraid anymore.”

Bernadetta sniffles one last time before nodding at Dorothea, and allows the songstress to help her up. They turn to Manuela as she finishes with the man and says, “He’ll live, but I can’t just let him sit here.”

“We’ll take care of him,” one of the town’s women offers, “He has a bit of a distasteful reputation, so he’ll have a fun time in the stockades for a few weeks.”

“Thank you, ladies,” Manuela says gratefully as she turns to the students, “It would be best for us to go ahead and return to the Monastery.”

“I agree,” Mercedes says, “I’m sure everyone would want to hear what has happened.”

The five women of the Monastery wave goodbye to the women of the town as they leave. Manuela leads everyone while the students remain largely silent, though Bernadetta is lost in thought. 

‘Why did I do that?’ Bernadetta’s mind and demons seemed at war with each other, her demons ridiculing her for doing something so brazenly stupid while her rational mind reassured her that what she did saved her friends. There was something else though. Something that these demons seemed to fear and her mind embraced for its warmth. She had realized not long ago that a small flame had been smoldering for some time. ‘What is this fire within me?’ She thinks to herself. 

She didn’t know when this fire ignited, nor did she know how long it had been this way, but she knew that this flame had to be protected. She feared that, if it were to be extinguished, she would lose everything she had strived to achieve this year. For a brief moment, clarity came to her as she remembers a few lyrics from a song that Sothis had introduced her to…

**‘Even through the darkest days, this fire burns, always’**

Bernadetta can feel her fire flare within her, forcing her demons to finally shut up as she looks ahead of herself with determination. 

\--------------

“I can’t act any further out of line now without compromising the safety of my people. If the Javelins of Light were to fall, it could mean the end of not just the Empire, but of all of Fodlan.” Edelgard finishes explaining to Claude. She had spent the last hour giving every detail of what has happened in the last several months, as well as briefly explaining what had happened to her when she was in captivity. Claude remained largely silent, only interjecting periodically for clarification on certain details. Initially, his expression was one of uncertain anger, now it is simple pity after being told what has happened, and what will likely happen in the months to come. 

Claude looks at the ground as he shakes his head, saying, “Here I thought I had it rough for a while. What you have been through makes my issues seem like a satirical puppet show by comparison.”

“What have you faced then?” Sothis, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly asks with a raised eyebrow. 

“Racism, ridicule, discrimination, I could go on,” Claude says somewhat cheekily, befitting his personality, “But again, nothing like what Edelgard has faced.”

“Racism?” Edelgard asks as she tilts her head incredulously, “I thought you were from the Alliance?”

“I represent the Alliance, yes,” Claude clarifies, “But I don’t necessarily come from it.”

“Wait a minute,” Sothis looks over Claude and asks, “Are you saying you’re... Almyran… like Cyril?”

“Yes, but only half Almyran. I still bear the Crest of Riegan, and no one in Almyra actually bears any crests at all,” Claude clarifies. 

“So are you from Almyra, or are you the child of a servant for House Riegan?” Edelgard asks as the scandalous possibilities flood her mind.

“Even better,” Claude says with a reluctant sigh, “I hold the same rank as you and Dimitri.”

Sothis’s jaw drops to the floor as Edelgard does a double take while saying, “Wait, what?!”

Claude simply smirks at their reaction and says, “My real name and title is Prince Khalid von Riegan, heir to the throne of Almyra.”

Edelgard and Sothis look between themselves and Claude (or, more appropriately, Khalid) repeatedly, too stunned to form a proper response. They spend several minutes collecting themselves enough to eventually speak again, with Sothis saying, “Does anyone else know?”

“Besides my immediate family and only a couple of others, no,” Claude confirms, “I don’t intend to keep this a secret for very much longer, but since you shared what has happened to you, what you’ve done and are going to do, I figured this is the least I can share as a sign of my trust.”

“You said you trust me?” Edelgard asks.

“Marginally,” Claude says with a shrug, “I won’t go off telling everyone you’re the Emperor of Flames or that you were indirectly involved with Lonato’s rebellion, but you still need to do that yourself. I need to ask, though. Why did you decide to share this with me first, and not Dimitri or anyone else?”

“If I'm honest,” Edelgard looks away as she rubs her arms with worry, “I’m scared of what he would do. He’s just… unstable.”

Claude nods and says, “I understand. We can't deny that he needs help in the worst way, but I think that, once you tell him the truth, he might be able to find a way to begin recovering from this.”

“But how?” Edelgard asks, now starring Claude in the eye, “What can I do to tell him  _ without  _ him trying to kill me?”

“At this point,” Sothis says, “Bringing him here might be your only option.”

“No,” Edelgard says stubbornly, “This mess is mine to make right. I need to confront him on my own without anyone interfering. It’s just a matter of doing it right. And if the worst does come, then whatever happens happens.”

Sothis just sighs while Claude chortles lightly, and he says, “If I may be honest, I almost prefer you being stubborn and uptight than pitiful and shallow.” 

Edelgard glares daggers at Claude as Sothis says, “Now that we are on the same page then, will you help us, or will you just not get in our way?”

Claude’s trademark grin returns to his face as he says, “I’ll stay quiet so long as the princess and you stay quiet about my true heritage. As for working with you, I’m going to wait for Dimitri’s reaction to this before I do anything.”

Edelgard lets out a sigh of relief as she says, “Thank you. I’ve kept my secrets hidden for long enough, so keeping yours hidden won’t be difficult. However, I feel that you at least need to come clean with Byleth as well.”

Claude gets a little nervous at the mention of his professor’s name, and says, “Yeah… I’m just… not sure how to do it.”

“If it helps any,” Sothis says, “Byleth has spent quite a bit of time praising you behind your back. I’m sure she won’t mind knowing the full truth about you just as she does with Edelgard’s truth.”

“Thanks,” Claude replies, “Anyway, I’ll be seeing you all later,” And he steps away to the door to return to his body.

\--------------

Anna has finished with training the students in hand-to-hand combat. Her star pupils, Leonie, Casper, Dedue, and, quite surprisingly, Hilda, have shown incredible progress for only a couple weeks of practice. Most of everyone else grasped the basics, but haven’t ventured further beyond. Anna didn’t mind it too much. Even she agreed that if she had a choice between a sword or her own hands and feet, she’d go for the sword. As she leaves the training grounds, she spots John walking towards her. “John!” She calls out.

“Hey, Anna!” John quickly replies as he turns to walk alongside her to the fishing pond, “How’s the students been?”

“They’ve been great,” Anna states, “I did catch Hilda and Leonie earlier in the middle of a scuffle, but they were using what I’ve taught them rather than throwing fists.” She shakes her head at the memory before asking, “How about you?”

John heaves a heavy sigh as he says, “Insane. The way the Captain has the training drills set up means that everyone is pushed to their absolute limit. It wasn’t too terribly difficult for me, but the number of times I saw one of the other trainees collapse astounded me.”

“They can’t be that bad, can they?” Anna asks with a semi-embarrassed look.

“That was just physical training. I had to face off against Catherine for my sword training today, and I’m surprised just how much of a monster she can become,” John says as he shudders at the fresh memory, “Although, given the way the other trainees were looking at me, they’ve yet to get to that level with her.”

Anna tilts her head at this, and says, “Really? They  _ are _ that bad?”

“I think it also helps that I’ve been part of the guard for a few years, but the trainees would’ve failed even the guard examination by now.” John clarifies. 

“Yikes,” Anna says once they reach the fishing pond, the sun setting in the west, “Jeralt was really scraping the bottom of the barrel with them, huh?”

“*Sigh* yeah,” John says as he stands at the end of the fishing pier, the unseen horizon turning red in the west as the east turns blue, “Part of me honestly misses being a gatekeeper.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Anna retorts playfully, “Being a Knight is far greater than being a simple guard.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t miss it a bit,” John says as he looks at the pond, “First, I don’t get to greet everyone entering the monastery every day.”

“Well, you see them all eventually,” Anna counters. 

“Second,” John looks her in the eyes as he says, “I’m not nearly pushed so far as a guard.”

“Well… fair enough, but-,” Anna begins, but is interrupted as John grasps her hand.

“And most importantly,” John says as he turns to her, “I don’t get to see you every day as a knight.” 

“Eh?” Anna’s head snaps in John’s direction, her eyes filled with surprise and nervous anticipation as her face flushes red. 

“I mean,” John looks away for a moment before his eyes locks with hers, “For everything that I have now as a knight, I don’t think I could ever replace you.” 

“John…?” Anna whispers, turning her body fully towards him as he turns to her, his free hand reaching to caress her face. 

“I… I’ve been meaning to say this for… awhile now,” John draws slightly closer, so that the only thing he and Anna can see is each other, “But… I…. I love you, Anna.”

Anna had been waiting for this moment for some time, and wastes no time pressing her lips against his. John’s arms wrap around Anna protectively as he leans into her, Anna wrapping her arms around his neck possessives. They hold each other like this as several students and faculty stop and observe this tender moment. A subtle “Aw man…” could also be heard from a certain student.

They break apart and look at each other, their faces flush with a mixture of embarrassment and lust. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear that, John,” Anna says as her smile grows larger, “I love you, too.” Anna moves her head forward and locks her lips against his once again. 

The both suddenly hear a few women exclaim with jubilation nearby, and John and Anna break apart to find Manuela, Dorothea, a semi-reluctant Mercedes, and a terrified Bernadetta rushing (or, in Bernadetta’s case, dragged) towards them. 

“By the Goddess!” Dorothea exclaims, “You two took long enough!”

“I know!” Manuela agrees, “They were way too slow if you ask me.”

Anna and John look between each other, the four women, and the pond, contemplating if jumping in would be a good idea as opposed to facing the raging banshees before them. 

“Alright ladies,” a surprise Sylvain suddenly says with Ingrid in tow, “Let the young lovers be.”

“Oh what?” Mercedes asks, “Didn’t you try to flirt with-,”

“Yeah, and she had him running for his life immediately after,” Ingrid clarifies as she and Sylvain start pulling the four women away, “Besides, I gave him good reason not to chase too many women again.”

“Don’t remind me,” Sylvain strains through his teeth, “I still haven’t been able to sit right after that.”

Ingrid looks away with a blush as she says, “I… went too far, didn’t I?”

“What did she do?” John asks, remembering back to the infamous scream that day. 

“Don’t ask,” Sylvain and Ingrid both say unanimously, causing everyone to giggle heartily at their expense. 

\--------------

Sylvain returns to his room, somewhat embarrassed and a little heartbroken from the incident by the pier. “Damn, can’t believe Anna’s officially taken,” he says to himself with resignation, “Oh well, still plenty of women here for my perusal.” He removes his overcoat and is about to remove his shirt when he hears knocking at the door. He opens the door to find an older servant of the Church with a letter in his hand.

“Are you Sylvain Gautier?” The older man asks. 

“That is me, yes.” Sylvain confirms.

“I have a letter for you. I believe the courier said it is from your father, Margrave Gautier. He also said it is urgent.” The servant hands the letter over to Sylvain.

“Thank you,” Sylvain says gratefully, already opening the seal of the letter, “Is that everything?”

“It is indeed,” The servant replies cheerfully, bowing slightly to the young noble, “Please enjoy your evening.” He steps away from the door as Sylvain closes it while his eyes scan through the letter, his expression growing darker and darker as a sullen realization fills his soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...  
> Why... why are you here? There's another chapter to read for once.


	17. Bonus Chapter: Please Don't Stop the Music

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter is written strictly for the fun of the reader and shouldn't be treated as canon, unless you want it to be canon for the story.  
> Anyway, enjoy the shenanigans.

Sothis is laying on Byleth’s bed, twirling her thumbs as Byleth is grading a recent batch of assignments from her class. It had been about a week since she introduced herself to the crest bearing students, and while she certainly enjoyed spending time with new people, there was something she wanted to do. 

“I need to ask,” Sothis says with a sigh, “If you hate Metal so much, what kind of music do you like?”

“I don’t hate it,” Byelth answers without looking up from her work, “You just overplay it. As for what I like… hmmm.” She leans back and rests her head in her hand before saying, “I’d have to say orchestral, but calm orchestral, nothing over the top.”

“Ugh,” Sothis floats off the bed and turns towards Edelgard’s room while saying, “You’re hopeless. I’m going to see if I can’t find someone to listen to it with me.” And thus, Sothis set off to find a listening partner for her preferred type of music: Metal.

\--------------

“Hey, Edie!” Sothis calls once she enters Edelgard’s room.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Edelgard growls through her bared teeth while she works on her assignment. 

Sothis rolls her eyes and says, “No, not really. Anyway, what kind of music do you like?” 

Edelgard turns around in her chair to look at the Goddess, and asks, “Why are you asking now?”

Sothis sighs and says “I want to listen to the music I like with other people, and I need you to tell me what you like.” 

“And how does that help?” Edelgard asks with a flat face.

“It’s more curiosity than anything else,” Sothis says as she leans against a bedpost, “So, what do you like?”

Edelgard turns around and leans back in her chair when she says, “The music Byleth and I listen to when training.”

Sothis recoils slightly at what the princess said and asks, “Rap? You really like that?”

“Well, yeah,” the princess replies, “It helps me focus and some of the songs are rather encouraging… wait, why is it called ‘rap’?”

“I don’t know,” Sothis shrugs, “It’s just called that. Never bothered to figure out why.”

“Well, whatever it means, I like it, especially… uh, what are their names... ‘Eminem’ and ‘Tupac’?”

“*Sigh* Figures. And what about Metal?” 

“Is that what Sabaton is?” 

“Yep.”

“Then that’s a hard no”

Sothis facepalms before aggravatedly saying, “Fucking Hell, both you and Byleth are against me!”

“Well it’s your own fault that you overplay it!” Edelgard retorts angrily. 

“Aaaagggghhhh, Stubborn Princess!” 

“Idiot Goddess!” 

\--------------

Claude looks to his wall with a concerned look. ‘Why are the Goddess and the Princess fighting?’ 

After a few moments, said Goddess makes herself known and says, “Sorry you had to hear that, we had a disagreement over what music is superior to what.”

“Music you say?” Claude gets a sly grin when he asks, “What kind of music?”

“I’ll show you,” Sothis says, bringing Claude into the Sword’s Throne Room and leading him to the theater. “Just sit back and watch, and let me know what you think.” 

Claude does as he’s told when the theater’s lights dim and a phantom band appears on the stage. Claude leans forward as the first song starts to play. “What’s first?” He asks. 

“Bit of what I like,” Sothis answers, “I’ll show you what Edelgard and Byleth like later.” 

\--------------

**“The terror of the seas! Bismarck and the Kriegsmarine!”**

Claude sits in a shocked stupor while Sothis leans back with a smug expression on her face. “Well,” she begins, “What do you think?”

“Um…” Claude looks at Sothis with fear evident in his eyes, “Anything… quieter? Wait, actually, what does Edelgard like?”

Sothis’s expression deflates as she answers, “Rap.”

Claude’s eyebrow pops up in confusion as a phantom piano fills the air, asking, “Rap? The Hell is that?”

“You’ll see,” Sothis replies as the piano gives way to a single guitar. 

\--------------

**“Lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it…”**

Claude nods along silently to the beat, obviously enjoying this particular song more than the last, much to Sothis’s dismay. 

Once the song finishes, Claude turns to the Goddess and says, “That was good.”

“*Sigh* Figures,” Sothis responds dejectedly, “Anything else you want to try?”

“Maybe another day,” Claude says as he stands from his seat, “I need to finish my assignment.”

“Very well,” Sothis says as she waves her hand, sending Claude back to the waking world. She heaves another heavy sigh before standing herself and leaves the throne room to visit the other students. “There’s more students out there to test. I’ll start with Dimitri.”

\--------------

“You want to listen to what?” Sothis asks, very confused by the prince’s request. 

“Something that describes what I’m going through right now,” Dimitri answers with a confident face, “I feel that, if I hear it from someone else's perspective, I could learn to heal.”

Sothis scratches her ear and says, “Alright, just don’t try to run once I start.”

\--------------

**“So what if you can see the darkest side of me? No one would ever change this animal I have become!”**

Dimitri sits tensely while listening to the intense song being played as Sothis throws increasing worried glances at him. ‘He’s not responding to this, what’s wrong?’

Once the song ends, Dimitri doesn’t immediately respond, but Sothis can feel a worrying energy emit from him. Sothis looks between the stage and an increasingly unstable looking Dimitri before immediately playing something far calmer than before, a simple solo piano piece that brought her to tears the first time she heard it. The reaction from Dimitri is immediate as his rising bloodlust subsides, and his overall countenance relaxes considerably. 

After a few minutes, the piece ends, and Dimitri says, “Thank you. I don’t know what came over me there.”

“Yeah, I feel like I brought that on myself,” Sothis says as she leads Dimitri back to the main doors, “Anyway, I know better than to play anything that intense with you, then.”

“I know,” Dimitri says, “Hopefully that piano piece can calm me if I can’t control myself later.”

“Yeah… no,” Sothis says with a knowing grin, “I saw what happened in Gaspard between you and the princess. She’ll probably beat me to the punch the next time it happens.”

Dimitri doesn’t answer, but blushes profusely as he grabs the door and disappears from Sothis’s sight. 

\--------------

Sylvain looks at the ceiling of the throne room when he says, “I want… something that describes… me.”

Sothis doesn’t respond, and just allows the next song to play…

**“Ladies and gentleman, this is Mambo number 5.”**

\--------------

**“A little bit of you makes me your man.”**

Sothis didn’t allow the song to finish for Sylvain before she abruptly cut it off. 

“Aww,” Sylvain looks at Sothis disappointedly, “It just got to the good part again.”

Sothis just levels a flat glare at him when she says, “Self righteous prick,” and flicks her wrist, sending the womanizing boy back to his room. 

\--------------

Annette looks Sothis up and down before asking, “How am I supposed to know what kind of music I would like if I’ve hardly listened to music before?”

“I’m not saying you need to be specific,” Sothis clarifies, “I just want to know what you would want in a song.”

Annette rests her head in her hand before saying, “I want something fun, but not too intense. Kind of like… a fast paced waltz with an upbeat tone.”

“But nothing too exotic either, right?” Sothis asks. 

“Well... maybe something slightly exotic," Annette answers with a slight tilt to her head. Sothis looks to the stage and gets her chosen song ready. ‘I may not enjoy this genre nearly as much, but at least it’s good.’

\--------------

**“Cause I’m in too deep, and I’m trying to keep…”**

Sothis watches Annette as she nods her head to the beat of this song, her eyes closed as she takes in the lyrics. Although Sothis is slightly disappointed, she couldn’t deny that Annette is thoroughly enjoying herself. 

Upon the song's ending, Annette opens her eyes with a merry smile and says, “I loved that. Do you have anymore?”

“I do,” Sothis begins, “But I need to see what everyone else likes, as well. But I’ll be sure to bring you back so we can do this again.”

“Great!” Annette exclaims, “I wonder if Fleix will like this.”

“I’ll be sure to ask him,” Sothis promises as she leads the young girl to the main doors. 

\--------------

Felix looks incredulously at Sothis, and asks, “Why would I have any interest in music at all?” 

“Because…” Sothis scratches her head as she searches for an answer, “Annette likes it as well?”

Felix just sighs and says, “Look, unless you have something that could help me train in combat, I’m not interested.”

“Then I have just the thing,” Sothis says as a low guitar starts playing a slow tune.

\--------------

Felix watches the stage in mild shock as he tries to discern just what instrument could be playing, but all it sounds like to him is hitting a metal jug of water with a stone hammer while someone is striking a lute with lightning in the background. Not that he was complaining, though, he had just never heard anything like this before. 

As the song seemingly ends abruptly, Felix turns to the rather smug Goddess and says, “While this was surprising, I still don’t see how this could help.”

Sothis frowns and crosses her arms while saying, “So even after I pull the most exotic thing I could find, you still aren’t interested.”

“I can’t rightfully say I am,” Felix replies with a shrug, “All it would do is distract me from my training and work.”

“*Sigh* Alright, I’ll send you back,” Sothis says quietly as she leads him to the doors. 

\--------------

Ingrid and Mercedes look at each other for a brief moment then look back at Sothis and ask, “What?”

“I said, what kind of music do you both like?” Sothis replies tiredly. After her failed attempt to wake up Hilda to ask what her favorite kind of music is, in order to save time, she decided to start doing group listening sessions. 

“Um…” Ingrid starts, “Something heroic, inspiring even. One befitting a knight.”

“Oh, that would actually sound quite lovely,” Mercedes says, “Though it shouldn’t be too intense, just mild. We do need to unwind after today, so something relaxing should be just fine.”

‘And there goes ‘Night Witches’,” Sothis thinks to herself as a piano fills the air.

\--------------

**“Standing in the Hall of Fame…”**

Ingrid and Mercedes stand enraptured by the music, their eyes alight with inspiration. Sothis, however, stands off to the side, bored out of her mind. ‘Not that it’s bad,’ she thinks to herself, ‘I just don’t see how this is entertaining beyond inspiring an army.’

As the song draws to a close, Ingrid and Mercedes turn to the Goddess and both ask, “Can we have more?”

“Uuhhhh, maybe later,” Sothis answers as she flicks her wrist, sending them back to reality, “Ok, next test.”

\--------------

After several more failed attempts with Ferdinand, Lorenz, Linhardt, and Lysithea, Sothis is left with only two crest bearing students left, both of whom she had little hope for.

Marianne and Bernadetta shiver frightfully in their seats as Sothis tries to decide what kind of music to introduce them to. 

“So… what if we try this,” Sothis says as a solo cello begins playing.

Bernadetta tilts her head somewhat at the moderate tempo while Marianne says, “Um… do you have anything… more...uh… unique?”

“Well,” Sothis stops the cello as a more somber piano takes its place, “I have this one.”

As the piano plays, a female voice sings over it…

**“You were the shadow to my light…”**

Marianne’s frown deepens as Bernadetta now says, “M-maybe something l-less… quiet.”

“Less quiet you say,” Sothis paces the piano goes silent, “Unique and less quiet…”

“Oh,” Marianne suddenly perks up, “And… uh… something… intense.”

“Intense?” Sothis balks at Marianne’s request, “Why would you want something like that?”

“Um… the few times I’ve gotten to see… an orchestra… they always had at least one piece that was louder and… just, more intense than the other pieces.”

“Yeah, t-that actually s-sounds like it would b-be good.” Bernadetta sits up straighter in her chair, “Do you h-have something like that.”

Sothis looks between Marianne and Bernadetta, mildly shocked at this turn of events. She goes through her mental library of music and is stunned by just how similar their requests are to her personal choice of music genres. ‘It...it can’t possibly work out like this, can it?’ Sothis throws caution to the wind as she says, “Ok, I think you might be interested in this,” and the room fills with the sounds of distant church bells. 

\--------------

The next morning, Ferdinand and Lorenz are discussing last night's events in the dining hall away from prying ears. 

“What was she thinking?” Ferdinand whispers harshly, “That noise she called ‘metal’ is nothing I would want to listen to willing, ever!”

“Yeah,” Linhardt yawns loudly as he speaks, “I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep after that until she started playing that piano piece. Oh, I slept well last night….”

“Don’t start falling asleep on me,” Ferdinand says as Edelgard and Bernadetta approach. 

“I can only assume Sothis introduced you to her music,” Edelgard says as she sits down next to Ferdinand while Bernadetta sits timidly next to Linhardt, “Your thoughts?”

“Awful.”

“Hm, say something?”

“I liked it.”

All three students looked at Bernadetta, Ferdinand in mild shock, Edelgard incredulously, Linhardt tiredly.

“Say what?” Ferdinand says, “How can you listen to that noise and like it?”

“I-it wasn’t noise…” Bernadetta retorts, though her composure deteriorated due to the attention, “I-it was… c-c-complex a-and…”

Her voice fails as Linhardt offhandedly says, “I feel like I should be surprised, but I’m not.”

\--------------

“Aw man…” Hilda grumbles into her arm, “I missed the fun last night.”

“I must say,” Lorenz says, ignoring the skulking Hilda, “That ‘Jazz’ genre is quite nice for a rainy day or a quiet evening.”

“I’ll have to give that a listen sometime,” Cladue says, “Sothis introduced me to a few songs, but I wonder if she’ll show me more.”

“Time will tell,” Lysithea says, “I’m just happy she showed me something quiet that could help me study someday.” 

Claude just grins at her before turning to Marianne and asks, “What about you?” The girl jumps slightly as he asks, “What did you like?”

“Um… metal…” Marianne says quietly, looking away. 

“Metal?” Hilda asks inquisitively, “What’s that?”

“Distracting,” Lysithea says immediately.

“Loud,” Cladue answers as well.

“Obnoxious,” Lorenz answers as well, “I honestly don’t think I can rightfully enjoy it.”

“And… how is any of that bad?” Hilda asks, “It honestly sounds like fun, if you ask me.”

Lysithea rolls her eyes and leaves while saying, “You will always be hopeless, Hilda.”

“Don’t be so disrespectful, Lysithea,” Claude says as he follows her.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you two be,” Lorenz says as he leaves as well.

Hilda looks around herself before leaning close to Marianne and asks, “What is it really like?”

\--------------

**“He was made to rule the waves across the seven seas!”**

Sothis smiled broadly as her audience sat enraptured by the music that blared throughout the theater. Bernadetta had a look of utter amazement, her smile nearly as broad as Sothis’. Marianne just had her eyes close as she took in the music, her smile seeming more content. As for their new guest, Hilda, she seemed shocked and awed by the music, her hand gently tapping against her thigh to the beat.

As the song ends, Hilda immediately says, “That… was… AWESOME! Can we get more?”

“Only if Marianne and Bernadetta are alright with that,” Sothis says, gesturing to the two women in question. 

They just nod quietly at Sothis as she lets another song start playing, this time opening with a distant chant.

**“From the depths of Hell in silence, Cast their spells, explosive violence…”**

‘Finally,’ Sothis thinks to herself quietly, ‘I have listening partners every night.’ And the four women lost themselves in the music for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song list:  
> Bismarck- Sabaton  
> Lose Yourself-Eminem  
> Animal I Have Become- Three Days Grace  
> River Flows in You- Yiruma  
> Mambo No. 5- Lou Bega  
> In Too Deep- Sum 41  
> Battle Sirens- Knife Party & Tom Morello  
> Hall of Fame- The Script, will.i.am  
> Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G (Or, you know, the Cello Song)  
> Faded- Alan Walker  
> The Last Stand- Sabaton  
> Night Witches- Sabaton
> 
> Aaaaaaand CUT!
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed the double feature today, figured I'd make up for two weeks of radio silence with a little something fun, and possibly heretical with regards to the game itself.   
> As always, hope you all enjoyed, because the angst is about to return, and it ain't pretty. Later!


	18. New Divide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "So give me reason  
> To prove me wrong  
> To wash this memory clean  
> Let the floods cross  
> The distance in your eyes  
> Give me reason  
> To fill this hole  
> Connect this space between  
> Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies  
> Across this new divide"- Linkin Park

Byleth sat nervously in Manuela’s office, a bit baffled by her diagnosis. “I need glasses?”

“I’m afraid so, dear,” Manuela states as she pulls a small box from her drawer, “When I did my initial examination of you when you arrived, your vision test came back nearsighted. I went ahead and ordered you a pair of glasses, but you don't have to worry about paying me back.”

“O...k…?” Byleth replies, again baffled. ‘I never needed glasses in the past timelines. Why n-, oh wait…’ She suddenly realizes that, in every timeline, Manuela had indeed given her a pair of glasses, but she cared so little she didn’t even bother putting them on once she received them. She reaches out and takes the simple box to open it, and finds a red, box shaped frame with the upper frame missing on each lens. 

“Well,” Manuela says, drawing Byleth’s attention, “Aren’t you gonna try them on?”

Byleth gulps nervously as she gently takes the glasses in her hands, careful to avoid smudging the glass itself. She opens the temples, and looks through the lenses before throwing an uncertain look at Manuela. The former songstress gestures at Byleth, encouraging her to put them on. Byleth takes a deep breath, and gently slips the glasses onto her head. 

\--------------

‘Relax, Claude,’ he thought to himself, ‘Just tell her what you found out and tell her the truth about yourself, it’s not difficult.’

Claude had been pacing in his room for several hours before he worked up the courage to finally face Byleth. The only problem he had was that she wasn’t in her normal places on a free day, such as the market square or the fishing pier. He had asked about seven different people as to her whereabouts when he was directed to Manuela’s office. After building his resolve for a few minutes, he finally decided to face her, but is now paralyzed in front of Manuela’s office with uncertainty. 

‘Come on you coward, you’ve faced worse,’ Claude ridicules himself, ‘Alright, on three. One… two…” He calmly opens the door and asks politely, “Excuse me Professor Manuela, but you wouldn’t have haaaa-,” 

As luck would have it, Byleth is sitting across from Manuela, and had turned to face him. What he wasn’t expecting, however, was the glasses. ‘Good Goddess, those glasses….’ His mind is set on fire by what he sees. He appreciated Byleth’s appearance enough on its own, but adding glasses to her face wasn’t something he ever expected, and the red frames perfectly complemented her angled face. He is completely lost for words as his deepest, dirtiest fantasies stirred within him. 

Manuela looks between Byleth and Claude for a minute before saying, “Is there something you need, dear?”

“Uh…, nope! Nothing at all!” Claude suddenly exclaims before closing the door a little too loudly, drawing the attention of a nearby servant. Claude can feel his face burning with lustful desire, and his embarrassed look didn’t help his countenance, either. ‘Shit… she looks amazing with those. I need to cool off,’ he quietly thinks to himself as he sprints to any available source of cooling. 

\--------------

Byleth and Manuela recoil at the sudden slamming of the door to Manuela’s office, and they remain silent as they hear Claude running away. Byleth continues looking around the room, taking in the finer details she had been missing; a small dent on the floor boards from an apparent accident, the lines and numbers on the beakers on Manuela’s shelf, the small box full of potion ingredients, all individually labeled. 

“I must say, those glasses have had a profound effect on Claude,” Manuela says with a knowing grin as she looks at the door, oblivious to Byleth’s astonishment. 

“I… I never knew the world was this clear,” Byleth says offhandedly as she leans out of the window. 

“Oh, right,” Manuela says as she realizes how distracted Byleth is, “Before you leave, I need to give you this.” Byleth turns around and gets another small box placed in her hands. “In this box is a general repair and care kit for the glasses, including replacement temples, screws, nose guards, and a few pieces of cloth for cleaning the glasses. Now, do you have any questions?”

“No, not really,” Byleth says as she tucks the box under her arm, “If I  _ really _ need advice, I’ll probably ask Ignatz since he has to wear glasses also.”

“Alrighty then,” Manuela ushers Byleth to the door and says, “If you need to replace a lens or even the frame due to battle damage, just go see the glass-smith in town. She’s taken care of all of my orders for glasses with superb quality. Just don’t expect it to be free.”

“Thank you, Manuela,” Byleth says before bidding farewell to her.

\--------------

After what felt like hours, Claude finally rushes into the training ground, and sprints to the water barrel, grabbing the biggest cup he can, scooping a hearty amount of water and dumping the contents onto his head, finally alleviating the heat that had overwhelmed him. 

“What happened to you?” Lorenz asks from nearby, causing Claude to freeze up in embarrassment once reality catches up with him. 

He turns back to the training grounds, finding Lorenz and Raphael taking a break from their sparring match while everyone else stares at the young man with curiosity. 

“Um…” Claude spends a few seconds considering his response before he says, “Uh… I was…. uh.”

“Oh, hey professorrrrr… whoa…” Raphael had turned around and spotted Byleth entering the training grounds, and also noticed the new glasses that she was wearing. Everyone turns to face the Professor, and are also taken back by her subtle but noticeable change in appearance. Claude turns back to the water barrel and just dumps more water on himself as Lorenz gets a sly grin. 

“I see,” he says quietly before turning to the Professor, “I must say, Professor. Your glasses certainly complement you very well.”

“Thank you, Lorenz,” Byleth begins, somewhat uncomfortable by the sudden onset of attention from everyone, “But don’t think for a second that flattery will make your training any easier for today.”

“Oh, I certainly don’t expect it,” Lorenz says as he backs off slightly, “Although, I fear Claude might be indisposed today,” He gestures toward the water barrel, “And he might need to take the day off.” 

Byleth looks for the young boy, but doesn’t see him immediately. 

“Yeah, he just left,” Raphael says while looking behind Byleth. She turns to see Claude racing out of the training arena, and tilts her head in confusion. 

“Oh well,” Lorenz says offhandedly as he readies his lance, “What do you say we resume this session, Raphael?”

“Alright,” the larger man replies as he readies his ax, “Let's see who’s the better fighter.” 

As the ringing steel erupts behind her, Byleth continues to look down the hall, worried about just what could be bothering Claude so much as to skip his training for the day.

\--------------

“Anna!” Claude calls at the woman, “I need your help!”

Anna looks up from her coin purse in her stall, and says, “Actually, I need to ask for your help as well. You first though.”

“Ok,” Claude says before coughing with embarrassment as he says, “It’s about Byleth.”

Anna’s expression turns to one of concern as she asks, “What’s wrong?”

“She’s…. she has glasses now,” Claude squeezes his eyes shut as he speaks, “And I don’t know how to handle it.”

Anna suddenly turns away from the young boy, trying to hide her merry laughter and failing miserably. Poor Claude risks looking around the stall to see that no one was terribly interested in the sudden outburst, but the one he feared most, Dorothea, approaches the stall and asks, “Now, what’s this about Byleth having glasses?”

Claude looks away in embarrassment as Anna calms herself, saying with a broad grin, “I’m willing to bet Claude here has it hot for teacher.”

“Oh-ho,” Dorothea gets an equally broad grin as she turns her attention to the boy, “Is this true?”

Claude remains silent and looks away from the two curious women, before Anna says, “You know, it’s actually not a bad thing.”

Claude tilts his head as he looks at the shopkeeper and asks, “How is it not bad? She’s my instructor and I’m her student. If anything happens between us, I could get expelled and she could be removed.”

Dorothea chuckles lightly and says, “Claude, I really hate to say this, but it’s been quite known for a while now that you have a thing for Professor Byleth.”

Claude blushes bright red at this, and is about ready to run away when Anna says, “Do you know how long it took for me and John to finally start talking to each other?”

“Um… how long?”

“Four months,” Anna says while leaning over her stall’s counter, “Granted, at the time, I never stayed longer than a few days before leaving for my next adventure, but I always came back, just on the off chance he would make the first move. And sure enough, with some encouragement from the other hopeless romantic besides Dorothea here…”

“Hey!”

“John finally approached me. Now look at us, last week we officially confessed to each other and now we are committed.”

Claude looks her over and asks, “How does that apply to me?”

“What I’m saying is that it won’t happen overnight. Love takes time,” Anna says while leaning away from her counter. 

‘Love takes time…,’ Claude repeats these words over and over before saying, “Thanks. That actually helps… I think.”

“Good, now, I need your help with something,” Anna’s expression turns grim as she says, “I’m worried something is wrong with Sylvain.”

“Please tell me he’s not going off with women again,” Dorothea says with an exasperated sigh.

“Well… that’s just it,” Anna looks down at the ground and whispers, “He’s hardly been with anyone, not even his classmates.”

Claude looks around the market square, and by some stroke of luck, spots the red headed boy, but can immediately tell what Anna means. Instead of the carefree grin and relaxed stance he’s used to seeing from him, he instead has a very rigid, unbalanced walk, and his eyes glared straight into the ground, his smile replaced by a surprisingly fierce looking scowl. If Claude didn’t know better, he would’ve assumed Sylvain had been taking lessons from Felix on looking miserable at all times. 

“There he is,” Anna nods in Sylvain’s direction , “Look at him. He looks like he’s about ready to attack everyone near him if we so much as breathe the wrong way.”

“Oh my,” Dorothea covers her mouth with worry as she says, “I see what you mean dear. You don’t suppose he and Ingrid have had a fight, do you?”

“The last time I spoke with Sylvain at all was when he was dragging you and your friends away from John and I. The next day, he had changed completely,” Anna stares at the boy as he turns down the main hall. 

“Either he and Ingrid got into a fight that has left him incredibly upset,” Claude theorizes, “Or we may be in for something big, and he’s the center of it.” 

“Maybe…” Anna throws a worried look at the hallway Sylvain disappeared down, and says, “You don’t suppose you could talk with him, could you?”

Claude also looks down the hall and replies, “I don’t think I can. You’d probably have better luck with Felix or Ingrid getting through with him.”

“Shoot,” Anna whispers before saying, “Thanks anyway. Just know that if you need more relationship advice, you know who to ask.”

Claude nods and offers his thanks before leaving her and Dorothea to gossip about the relationships around the monastery. 

\--------------

Ferdinand, Casper, and Linhardt are walking down the main road of the nearby town. The day before they had agreed to spend some time together, largely because their studies had taken up most of their time. 

“I’m telling you, Casper, you and Petra are going to get together before the end of the year. I see it happening,” Ferdinand exclaims as they pass the tavern. 

“I’m not sure if my father would approve of it, though,” Casper counters, “He already has a poor opinion of Brigid as it stands. On top of that, I doubt the natives of Brigid would take kindly to the son of the man who killed their prince!”

“Yeah… I get your point,” Ferdinand concedes, “But I still see it happening regardless.”

Casper rolls his eyes and asks Lindhardt, “What do you think?”

Linhardt briefly glances at them and says, “I honestly think that you need to take it easy for a change, Casper. While I don’t normally say things like this, you and Petra interact with each other incredibly well. Not to mention, you have already proven yourself better than your father in her eyes, so it shouldn’t be an issue convincing her people of the same thing.”

Casper sighs in defeat before saying, “Of course you’d say that.”

“What about you, Ferdinand?” Linhardt asks the taller man after yawning, “I’ve seen you and Dorothea spending a lot of time together.”

“Well… I won’t say anything is coming of it, but I’d sure like to think so,” Ferdinand answers somewhat hesitantly. 

“Did she stoop so low as to give you conditions to win her over?” Casper asks in response. 

“Sort of,” Ferdinand says, “All she said was that she would accept a dance from me at the White Heron Competition if I can keep up with her. Beyond that, I genuinely don’t know.”

Casper shrugs as he says, “Fair enough.” He then turns to Linhardt and asks him, “What about you, Lin? Anyone catch your eye?”

“I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again,” Linhardt levels a half-hearted glare at his friend as he says, “I have no interest in women.” Caper just shakes his head with a smirk, not continuing the conversation. 

They continue walking for several minutes in silence before they notice a courier sprinting through the streets. They step to the side to let him pass, but immediately notice the head of a lion emblazoned on his shoulder, as well as a distinct blue tunic under some light leather armor. 

“Oh no,” Linhardt whispers, “He’s from the kingdom. I’m more than willing to bet he’s got our next mission for us.”

“Only one way to find out,” Ferdinand says as the three follow the messenger back to the monastery. 

\--------------

The courier from Faerghus sprints through the gates of Garreg Mach, and continues sprinting down the main hall, desperation written on his face. He is about to turn the corner for the stairs when he is abruptly grabbed by Jeritza, his ever expressionless, mask covered eyes looking straight into the man’s eyes. “Why are you running?” He asks flatly. 

The courier shivers with fear for the larger man and stammers, “I-I-I have a m-message for t-t-the Archbishop.”

Jeritza closes his eyes and takes a heavy breath before saying, “Follow me then.”

Jeritza leads the timid courier up the stairs that lead to Rhea’s audience chamber, and upon entering, they find Rhea and Seteth in the middle of a conversation. 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to pursue a relationship with anyone, let alone now?” Seteth asks with tired concern, as if this topic had been brought up multiple times in the past. 

“I’ve largely been alone for most of my life once I became Archbishop,” Rhea replies calmly, briefly glancing at Jeritza and the courier before continuing, “There is nothing written in the Book of Seiros that would suggest that I’m not allowed to do so. Besides, you must agree just how lonely it is being confined to this room at all hours of the day with very little casual conversation with anyone besides you or your sister.”

“While I won’t argue that it is lonely,” Seteth concedes, “I still feel that you should wait for a little while before pursuing anything beyond just casual friendship, especially with how unstable Fodlan is at this time.”

“With that, I do agree,” Rhea nods at Seteth before turning and acknowledging the two others that have entered the room, “Is there anything that I can do for you two?”

Jeritza could be compared to a stone wall, not even reacting to the discussion he walked in on. The courier’s eyes, however, were as wide as dinner plates as he shivered fearfully for walking in on such a personal conversation. Jeritza looks down at the man before sighing and answering, “This gentleman here has a message from the kingdom.”

The courier looks between Jeritza and the Archbishop before saying, “Yes, I have a request from Lord Rufus and Margrave Gautier.”

Rhea’s eyes show immediate concern as Seteth’s stance stiffens straight. “What has happened?”

The courier takes a deep breath and says, “Lord Rufus is requesting assistance on behalf of Margrave Gautier concerning a recent bandit uprising near the border with Sreng. One of the old watchtowers has been commandeered by the Margrave’s disowned son, Miklan, and his bandit group has been wreaking havoc across the entire Margravate. Normally, the army would deal with it on its own, but our resources have been stretched thin due to the hunt for the Western Church, and worse still, Miklan has recently attacked the Margrave’s personal estate and stole the Holy Relic, the Lance of Ruin.”

Rhea and Seteth gasp at this revelation, both knowing full well just what could happen should Miklan attempt to bring the weapon’s power to bear. They quickly look at each other before Rhea turns to Jeritza and commands, “Jeritza, I need you to bring Captain Jeralt here so we can discuss our plan of action.” Jeritza simply nods and turns to retrieve the Captain in question. “As for you, courier, thank you for delivering this message to us. We will allow you a day to recover here, and we will send our own courier to inform Lord Rufus that we will indeed assist the kingdom in this.” The courier bows deeply and expresses his thanks to the Archbishop before Rhea turns back to Seteth, “Take the courier and give him a room to sleep in tonight. Once you’ve done that, get the house leaders and the professors. I highly doubt our Knights’ strength is anywhere near ready for such a task as retrieving an errant Holy Relic, so we may need the students for this task.”

Seteth sighs and replies, “I was afraid it would have to come to this.” He gestures for the courier to follow him as Rhea steps back to her throne and sits down, praying quietly that everything would turn out fine once this is over.

\--------------

Dimitri and Edelgard sit silently in the tea garden. While Edelgard hated to admit it, she couldn’t deny that their relationship as friends had progressed surprisingly smoothly. The fact that they can sit in silence like this and not feel awkward spoke volumes. However, she could tell that Dimitri was expecting something from her, and she knew what it was. Every bone in her body told her to not tell him the truth, that the truth would destroy him. However, the little boy that seemed trapped in her head all but begged for her to do it, and said that everything would be alright. 

She notices Dimitri look away slightly before he says, “I… I’ve had time to think about what happened to your family, and… I just wanted to know if anything happened to you.”

Edelgard sighs deeply before taking a sip of her tea and says, “I’m going to be honest with you, I didn’t tell you everything that happened. I just didn’t feel comfortable enough at the time to share it.” She subtly allows one of her sleeves to run up her arm slightly, just enough to show the tip of one of her scars. 

Dimitri notices the now visible scar, and looks at Edelgard’s eyes for permission. When she nods, Dimitri gently places his finger on the scar, and Edelgard winces, expecting a flare of pain. But instead, she feels a gentle tingle on the scar, and feels…

\--------------

_ … she trips over his errant foot and almost falls… _

\--------------

Edelgard squeezes her eyes shut as a dull, throbbing pain floods her head. She pulls her hand away from Dimitri and brings it to her head as she groans with pain, rubbing her temples as the pain fades away. Dimitri sits back, concern written on his face. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t…”

“No, it’s fine,” Edelgard says as she recovers from her latest flash back, “But… this does have to do with what happened… to me.”

Dimitri looks her in the eyes and asks, “What happened then?”

Edelgard opens her mouth to speak, but is interrupted by a voice from the entrance, “Prince Dimitri, Princess Edelgard.” The two of them look at the entrance to find Seteth standing there, concern written on his face, “Lady Rhea needs the two of you, now.”

“What’s wrong?” Dimitri asks as he and Edelgard stand. 

“Lady Rhea will explain once you get to the audience chamber,” Seteth answers, stepping out of their way to allow them to leave. 

\--------------

Sylvain enters the training arena, and his ominous presence draws everyone’s attention, though he hardly acknowledges it. He quietly scans the arena before stepping toward a weapons rack, and grabs one of the training lances. He also grabs a training dummy and sets it up away from the amassed students. He takes one look at the dummy in question, and he pictures his damnable brother’s face on it. His mouth snarls at this image as he violently thrashes the dummy with his lance, reducing it to little more than splinters and sand. 

\--------------

Byleth watches as Sylvain loses himself in his rage, and Lorenz and Raphael stop their sparring to watch as well. 

“What’s gotten into him?” Raphael asks, “He’s almost as vicious as Dimitri.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Lorenz answers, “I’m more than convinced that he must’ve received some news that has left him this way.”

“I’d rather we not interfere,” Byleth says, drawing her students' attention, “We should focus on our own training and let Sylvain vent on his own. Besides, it’s not our place to pry.”

“Very well then, Professor,” Lorenz states as he readies himself for another bout, “Are you ready, Raphael?”

“Yup,” the large man says, “I-,”

Suddenly, they hear a wooden shaft snapping from Sylvain’s direction as the red hair boy shouts, “IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!” 

Byleth immediately snaps her head in his direction, and sees Ingrid had approached Sylvain, and tried to talk to the boy. However, he had snapped his lance in half with pure rage, and left Ingrid to take a few steps back in fear. Everyone watched as Sylvain huffed and left the training arena, leaving the ruined lance and destroyed dummy on the ground. 

Byleth takes one look at Ingrid as her composure starts to fail, and approaches the blond haired girl. 

“Hey,” Byleth says calmly. Ingrid looks at Byleth with tear stricken eyes as Byleth asks, “What happened?”

“I… *sniff* I wanted to see… what was wrong with Sylvain, and…” Ingrid’s breaths become unsteady as Mercedes approaches her from behind, “And he just… he snapped. I…. I’ve never seen him like this before and I… I’m worried he…,” Ingrid fails to finish her sentence as sobs overwhelm her. Mercedes pulls Ingrid into a comforting hug, and nods at Byleth to follow the young man. 

“Lorenz, Raphael, can you…?” Byleth gestures to the mess that Sylvain had left, and her students both nod as they put away their weapons and start cleaning it up. Byleth leaves the training arena and spots Sylvain slamming his room’s door shut loud enough that most of the courtyard could hear. She starts walking to his room, but she hears her name being called. 

“Professor Byleth.” She turns to find Seteth with Claude standing behind him. 

“Yes?” She replies. 

“I need you to come with me to see Lady Rhea. It’s urgent.” He answers. 

Byleth bites her lip and takes one last look towards Sylvain’s room before nodding at Seteth and following him. 

\--------------

“He has what?!” Dimitri exclaims, shocked at what he, his fellow house leaders and professors had been told. Edelgard and Claude also share equally shocked expressions to him while the professors share a grim look with each other. 

“Miklan has stolen the Lance of Ruin,” Rhea answers, her expression filled with concern, “While the power of the Relic will not manifest in the hands of a crestless individual, it will still make said individual incredibly dangerous to deal with. That, and very little is actually known as to what will happen to him if he holds the Relic for too long.”

“Normally a contingency of Knights would be sent for this,” Jeralt adds, “But our current strength simply won’t be enough to deal with him.”

“Then that means…” Claude says as he looks at his peers and professors.

Rhea nods grimly as she says, “I’m afraid we will have to send you and your classmates to deal with this as your strength together will more than match that of Miklan’s. I’ve also spoken with Jeralt, and while the knights will also assist in this mission, their purpose will be to prevent collateral damage that could result from this battle.”

“We will largely be stationed at the Gautier estate and town while the rest of you face Miklan head on,” Jeralt says, “Only a select few Knights will actually join you.”

“And who will they be?” Edelgard asks. 

“I’ll decide once we reach the Margraviate,” Jeralt answers with a sigh, “For now, inform your classmates of what’s happening. We leave tomorrow morning.”

\--------------

Sothis sits on Byleth’s bed and watches as she paces the room, lost in thought. All the students had been informed of the mission, and had been instructed to pack for a lengthy ride to and from the Margraviate. Sothis had also been informed of something else by Edelgard, and she needed to address it soon. But first, she wanted Byleth to do something for her. 

“Can’t you try and talk to Sylvain?” Sothis asks Byleth. 

“I did,” Byleth answers dejectedly, “All I heard was him locking his door. Everyone else already tried, but only got silence in response.” Byleth looks Sothis up and down and asks, “Wait, you’re a ghost. Why don’t you try?”

“I doubt he’d want to listen to the unreliable wisdom of, what the princess calls, an ‘idiot Goddess’.” Sothis answers while rolling her eyes, “If you all are having no luck, then what luck will I have.”

“Fair point,” Byleth replies, “I just wish we could do something to get through to him.”

Sothis grins evilly and answers, “You could flash him through his window, that’ll get him to react, guaranteed.” Byleth levels a flat glare as Sothis before flicking the Goddess in her forehead, hard enough to knock her back on the bed. “Ow! Ok, bad idea.” 

Byleth clicks her tongue in response before sitting in her chair, and asks, “I’m guessing Edelgard has another meeting tonight?”

“Yeah, and I plan on following her.”

“Will that even work?”

“Don’t know, but I’m going to find out, although…” Sothis looks away for a brief moment before continuing, “I’m worried about what she’s going to do after the meeting.”

“What is she going to do?” Byleth asks. 

Sothis takes a deep breath and explains, and Byleth stares at the Goddess in mute shock. 

\--------------

A pair of lone figures stand silently in the darkened forest, waiting for their third. A circle of flame erupts from the ground, and out steps a black armor clad person with a red and white mask. They stare at the first two figures before their low voice resonates in the air, “Are you aware of the situation at the Kingdom’s border with Sreng?”

“Yes, we are,” the taller figure says with a flat tone, “And I can assure you that we have had nothing to do with it. This does present us with an opportunity, though.”

The shorter man nods and continues, “With the Knights of Seiros distracted and the students away from the academy, we can capture our target and proceed with the experiments needed to complete our research much sooner and with less difficulty than expected.”

“Is the Death Knight required?” The masked figure asks. 

“Absolutely not!” The talker figure exclaims angrily, “After his poor performance in the tomb, his involvement will only prove detrimental to our cause. See to it that he goes with you to the border and remains by your side at all times.”

“If necessary,” the shorter man adds, “Have him sent back to Enbarr to await further instruction. Under no circumstances is he to interfere with the capture.”

The masked individual lowers their head and says, “I understand. Anything else to report?”

“Not at this time, no,” the taller man answers, “Just return your report from the battle once it is over.”

“As you wish, Lord Thales,” the mask person replies as three circles of flame consume them. However, as the flames dissipate and Thales and Solon vanish, only the Emperor of Flames remains, and she removes her mask. 

Edelgard takes in the fresh air, steadying her breath as she readies herself for her most dangerous task yet. 

Nearby, she can hear the low growl of a young girl as she grumbled, “I just want to tear them limb from limb and shove it all up their asses!” 

Edelgard looks at Sothis for a moment before replacing her mask on her face, her disguised voice saying, “We’ll get our chance eventually. For now, I need to do this.”

“I still think it’s a bad idea,” Sothis says with concern, “Not the worst thing you could come up with, but still…”

“I’m only doing this because there is something that I need to know first,” Edelgard says as flames circle her once more, “Once I’ve learned what I can, then I’ll do what needs to be done.”

“Alright,” Sothis says as she enters the flames, “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

\--------------

Dimitri yawns loudly as he finishes packing his travel bag. It would take at least two and a half days of near constant, fast marching to reach the Margravate, and maybe a day or more to deal with Miklan once they reach him. Dimitri had already tried speaking with Sylvain, but all he got from his room was low grunts and a resounding goodnight from him. While he knows Sylvain and Miklan have always been at odds with each other, he couldn’t imagine just what could be going through his friend’s head. 

Dimitri shakes his head as he sits at his desk, going over several assignments he had intended to turn in the next day, though due to the mission, they would have to wait. ‘At least I have time to make sure they're perfect,’ he thinks to himself as he scans the paper in front of him. 

While he sits, however, he can hear a strange sound emanate from behind him, like fire blowing in the wind. He remains absolutely still as he quietly reaches into the drawer at his stomach, drawing his dagger. The sound behind him grows louder and louder until the heavy footfalls of an intruder steps forward. The flaming sound behind him evaporates, and silence befalls the room. 

_ It’s him! _

_ He’s here! _

_ Kill him! End this now! _

__ Dimitri’s ghosts confirm his worst fears as he shakily turns around, standing from his chair as he is greeted by the sight of his nightmares. Although shorter than expected, the man responsible for his father’s death, for his friend’s suffering, for his unending night terrors stood before him, hiding their damnable visage behind a pale white and red mask. 

Dimitri rushes over to them, bringing his dagger high to strike them down, but this person was faster, and deftly grabs his dagger wielding arm and forces the blade away, driving it into Dimitri’s bed frame. 

“Cease,” a deep voice resonating from the man orders, “I’m not here to fight.”

“You,” Dimitri seethes with unbridled rage as he glares into the man’s hidden eyes, “You took them from me. YOU DID THIS TO ME!”

“I am not the first to wear this mask,” the man says calmly, not at all phased by Dimitri’s rage. 

“What?” Dimitri’s eyes refocus and his bloodlust subsides, “What do you mean not the first?”

The masked man lets go of Dimitri and steps back as Dimitri collects himself, and says, “I’m not the one that caused much of your suffering, but I won’t hide that what has happened recently was caused by my hand.”

“Remire,” Dimitri says as he realizes what they're saying, “Remire was you? And Lonato?”

“Remire, yes. The bandits were sent by me to eliminate you and von Riegan, and when they failed, I was the one who killed their leader. As for Lonato, I simply worked with those truly responsible for instigating his rebellion.”

Dimitri’s eyes glared daggers at this intruder, and he almost spits as he asks, “Well, who are you supposed to be then?”

“I am the Emperor of Flames.”

Dimitri’s eyes grow wide, and he asks through his teeth, “Why even bother coming here? Just to gloat?!”

“I’m not here to make you an enemy, Prince Dimitri,” the man answers. Dimitri’s steps back cautiously, confused as the intruder continues, “I came to apologize for my actions against you, and to tell you who I am.”

Dimitri remains quiet, calming himself before saying with a low voice, “Unless you can give me a good reason, I’m not sure if I can forgive you.”

“I don’t expect you to, either,” the person replies quietly, “Before I tell you who I really am, I need to ask this: What happened in Duscur? What did my predecessor do to you?”

Dimitri looks away as the painful memories of that day flood back into his mind, “It was late in the day. We were making our way to the capital of Duscur when our caravan was attacked.” Dimitri feels tears roll down his cheek, his composure deteriorating. “I… was in a carriage when the first wave hit. I don’t even know if it happened in waves. I just remember the screaming. Just… so much screaming.”

Dimitri turns to face his desk, grabbing the back of his chair as he continues, “When the screaming stopped, I stayed in there for… what felt like hours. It was only a few minutes, but…,” Dimitri bows his head as his body shivers, “When… when I opened that door, everyone was dead. I… found my father's corpse outside the door. He had given his life to protect me. And Glenn… he- he was somehow just barely alive, but he couldn’t be saved. I couldn’t even recognize him. He had been burned so badly… I only knew it was him from the banner fabric left on his wrist, a gift from his brother.” Dimitri’s chair creeks ominously as his grip tightens, and he whispers, “That’s when I saw him. Whoever the Hell wore that damn mask you have now. They just looked at me. They… didn’t do anything to me. All they did was bow their head and just… vanish in a pillar of fire.”

It takes all of Dimitri’s willpower to not break down. His eyes are squeezed shut as tears continue to flow freely. He doesn’t hear anything from the Emperor, but can hear them approach him. ‘Just do it. I don’t care anymore, just finish what you started.’

But instead of a sharp pain, or a sudden lack of consciousness, he feels the Emperor’s hand rest on his shoulder, and can hear them say with a sorrowful tone, “I’m sorry. I… was never told of what happened that day.”

Dimitri glares down at his desk, and starts putting together the pieces of a puzzle he didn’t want to solve. “Who are they?” he asks, “Who are the ones who did this to us?”

“Those Who Slither In The Dark,” the Emperor answers, “They are the ones who killed your father and friend. They gave me this mask so I could go forward with my own goals without exposing myself, but they never told me its history.”

The Emperor lets Dimitri’s shoulder go and steps away. Before he allows them to leave, though, Dimitri takes a shot in the dark and asks the one question he fears the answer to, “Why did you do this, Edelgard?”

It was the only logical conclusion he could make. ‘Emperor’ was a dead giveaway, and her height made it obvious that it couldn’t be Hubert or Ferdinand. On top of that, he knew how she gripped his shoulder in the past, and the feeling was almost the same now. 

Her footsteps stop suddenly, and a few tense minutes pass. He doesn’t turn to her, and just listens as he can hear what sounds like the hiss of escaping air from a cracked tomb. 

After a few minutes more, the distinct sound of building flames erupt behind him, but he hears her cracking voice as she says with what sounds like immense regret, as if ready to cry, “I had no choice.” The flames grow louder for a split second before dissipating completely. 

Dimitri’s composure finally snaps as his hands rip his chair in half, sending pieces flying to each wall. He falls to his knees and curls into a ball, dropping to his side as his tears flow freely and his sobs echo through his room. “Why…” he whispers between his cries, “Why did you have no choice, El?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ._.  
> ...what?  
> Don't look at me like that, it was bound to happen sooner or later.  
> Anyway, here's the hint for next week:  
> "That the face inside is hearing me  
> Right beneath my skin."


	19. Papercut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “It's like I'm paranoid lookin' over my back  
> It's like a whirlwind inside of my head  
> It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within  
> It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin”-Linkin Park

Dimitri woke up the next morning still curled on his floor, his nightmares strangely nonexistent. Although he felt well rested for once, his mentality was still damaged after what he learned the night before. It seemed his ghosts were also just as shocked, as they, too, remained silent from this revelation. Looking around the room, he sees his chair in pieces scattered about. Growling tiredly, he picked himself up and changed into a fresh uniform when his ghosts spoke up again. 

_ Are you going to finish it? _

_ She’s a traitor. _

_ Why? _

__ Only two of his ghosts seemed insistent on ending her; the last one, however, wanted answers, just as much as him. 

He takes a deep breath before stepping out, and sees Claude resting against the wall between Dimitri’s room and Edegard’s. Claude looks at Dimitri with a neutral expression, and asks, “Did she tell you the truth?”

“She told me enough,” Dimitri says, and subconsciously walks towards Edelgard’s door, but Claude steps in front of him and places his hand against his chest. 

“But she didn’t tell you everything, did she?” Claude says firmly. Dimitri glares at him before backing away, and Claude continues, “If you take the time to listen to what she’s been through, then you’ll understand why.”

“Yeah, what he said,” Sothis suddenly says, causing both men to jump slightly, “She’s only told you part of what’s happened. Just give her time.”

Just then, Edelgard’s door opens, revealing the woman in question. Dimitri looks into her eyes, and notices that they are red and bloodshot, and her skin is ghastly pale. Neither of them say anything, but their glares don’t grow more intense either. 

Claude looks between them both, feeling as if he is caught between an actual lion and eagle about to fight over the same prey. Sothis audibly sighs before saying, “Let’s just get to the Margraviate. While I understand that you both are unhappy with what has happened, we still have a responsibility to the people to keep them safe, no matter the threat. Right now, neither of you are a threat to the other, and I pray that neither of you do become threats severe enough to warrant a response. I just ask that the two of you please set this issue aside until after Miklan has been dealt with.”

Claude can feel the tension subside once Sothis is finished speaking, though Dimitri and Edelgard still remain silent as they start walking out of the hall. 

\--------------

Byleth, Hanneman, and Manuela stand in the courtyard next to their classrooms, discussing their upcoming mission. 

“Once we arrive, I feel that we should allow the students the night to rest for the battle,” Hanneman suggests, “It would be no use for them to fight while sore from near constant riding.”

“I second this,” Manuela agrees, “That, and it will also allow us a chance to gather information concerning the captured watchtower and Miklan’s bandits.”

“The more information we have, the better,” Byleth says, “I don’t want to go in there blind and get caught in a trap.” While she hated to admit it, one of the ‘Sabaton’ songs Sothis introduced her to had an intro with some invaluable advice from a famous wartime general. It simply went: ‘If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither yourself nor the enemy, you will succumb in every battle.’

Hanneman and Manuela nod at Byleth as the house leaders approach them. Byleth immediately notices Edelgard and Dimitri standing uncomfortably far from each other, with Claude placed between them.

“So,” Claude begins, “Just what is the plan.”

“Nothing as of yet,” Hanneman says, “However, once we get to the Margraviate, we will spend the night planning and resting up for the confrontation. Are you all ready?” 

Edelgard and Dimitri nod silently, while Claude says, “Yep, we’re ready.”

“Good,” Hanneman replies, “Gather your classmates and meet at the gate by eight.”

\--------------

Jeralt watched as the young… ‘Knights’ (he still didn’t feel comfortable calling them that) ran about the front gate, gathering supplies, loading wagons, and readying horses. He cursed under his breath as he watched one recruit drop a crate full of fruit on the ground, and another recruit slipping on said fruit and dropping several pieces of armor on the ground. 

“This is terrible,” Alois says next to him, shocked by how bad these people were after a solid two months of training, “I know I’m unbearably optimistic, but even I can’t feel good about this.”

“*Sigh* I know,” Jeralt says quietly as he watches the bumbling recruits. His eyes picked out the one recruit he did have faith in, John, as he tied down a cart full of weapons and camping equipment for the students to use. Next to John, he also noticed Anna loading several more boxes of equipment and strapping that down as well. 

“Captain.” Jeralt turns to Gilbert as he calls for him, “The students are starting to gather in the market. Do you wish to address them directly or do you want the professors to handle it?”

Jeralt nods at Gilbert as he says, “I’ll let them know the route we will march, but anything else will be handled by them. Just watch the recruits until I get back.”

“Very well, then,” Gilbert replies, somewhat disgruntled by what essentially amounts to babysitting duty given who they were dealing with.

\--------------

Byleth watched as her students gathered in the market, waiting to be addressed by her and the other professors. She spotted Sylvain standing at the back, not even looking up from the ground as a sinister scowl was plastered on his face. She also notices Dimitri and Edelgard standing on opposite sides of the congregated students, and silently hopes that they could settle their new issue soon. 

“Listen up,” she calls out, bringing everyone’s attention to her, “Over the next three days we will be marching to the Margraviate of Gautier to quell a bandit uprising on the border with Sreng. This bandit group is confirmed as being led by Miklan Gautier, the disowned son of Margrave Gautier.” This earns many hushed whispers among the Blue Lions while everyone else glances wearily at Sylvain. Byleth continues, “Worse still, he has also acquired a Holy Relic; the Lance of Ruin.” This time, a loud series of gasps erupt for the students, and the whispers spread to everyone. Byelth raises her hand to quiet them down before saying, “I understand that this will be an incredibly difficult fight for us, but I can guarantee you all that we will succeed. As I said, the march will take three days to complete, and we will have one night to gather as much information on the bandits and their hideout as possible before we need to face them. Now,” she gestures behind herself as her father steps forward, “Captain Jeralt will explain the route we will take.”

Once her father starts explaining, Byleth watches the students. Most of the Blue Lions kept throwing glances at Sylvain, who is still glaring at the ground, not caring for the attention he is given. The Black Eagles seemed more uneasy, likely at the thought of having to venture so deep into the Kingdom’s territory for this mission. As for the Golden Deer, they largely kept quiet whispers among themselves, and Byleth could pick out enough to know that their concerns lay largely in the Lance of Ruin being in the hands of the wrong person. 

“Before we mount up, does anyone have any further questions?” Jeralt asks, drawing Byleth back to reality. 

None of the students raise their hands or ask anything out loud, so Jeralt nods at his daughter as she announces, “Very well. We have ten minutes to mount up before we begin the march.”

\--------------

Jeritza scowled silently as he rode alongside the knights and students. The orders Edelgard had given him did  _ not  _ help his inner bloodlust, but it did set his mind at ease knowing that he’d at least stick close(ish) to his sister. He kept her within his periphery at all times, hardly looking directly at her save for only keeping appearances as he rode towards the back of the sizable convoy. Next to him rode Ashe, surprisingly, and on his other side rode Hubert. Next to Hubert rode Bernadetta, who seemed to be riding with much higher spirits than the missions before, her back surprisingly straight and her shaking only limited to a slight tremor in her hands. He watches Hubert as he steals the occasional glance at the young girl, and even someone as stoically unfeeling as Jeritza could tell that the young man must have some kind of crush on her. 

Though this didn’t interest him nearly as much as Ashe, who would often stare longingly at Mercedes, and while Jeritza, being the protective brother he is, would’ve gladly gelded the boy for staring too intently at her, he felt more inclined to protect him. Jeritza is at a loss as to why this is the case. Perhaps the boy grew on him after so many sparring sessions together, or perhaps he could sense Mercedes' equal liking for Ashe as she, too, glanced his way. Whatever the case, he couldn’t hurt the boy in any honest way as he felt he would hurt his sister indirectly. 

“It’s not wise to stare too long at someone,” Jeritza mentions offhandedly, “They could get an unwanted opinion of you.”

Ashe’s eyes snap forward as he stutters, “W-w-what c-could that possibly m-mean?”

“What I mean is that you need to stop staring,” Jeritza replies, “If you want her to see you as more than a friend, talking will yield better results than looking too hard at them.” He doesn’t know why he’s giving this advice to Ashe, but what he does know is that, if Ashe truly wants to be with Mercedes, she would be absolutely over the moon to have someone stand by her side in life. 

Ashe looks down at his horse's mane, and says quietly, “What should I say then?” Jeritza had no advice for that. It had been too long since he had talked to his sister on a personal level. He does hear a subtle hum from Hubert on his right as he takes in his advice as well, though Jeritza pays no mind. All that mattered to him right now was Mercedes, Ashe (for a reason he has yet to understand), and the will of Edelgard. 

\--------------

Speaking of Edelgard, she is currently situated towards the front of the convoy with Byleth, riding silently as she feels a pair of eyes piercing her back. While she doesn’t regret what she did the night before, she still felt overwhelmed with repentance for everything that she did leading up to it. She didn’t blame Dimitri for wanting to kill her on the spot, even when disguised, but with how quickly he reacted, she is incredibly thankful that he was at least predictable with how he attacked. 

What shook her, though, was the story of the Tragedy of Duscur. She knew TWSITD were cruel in their means, but to burn someone to near death and to leave them barely clinging to life was unforgivable. Again, it only made sense to her more why Dimitri had attacked so swiftly. When he finished his story, Edelgard felt that she needed to comfort him somehow. Embracing him was out of the question for her, so resting her hand on his shoulder felt more appropriate. But afterward, she was absolutely stunned when he called her name. 

She wasn’t exactly being subtle, between ‘Emperor’ and her short stature, but it didn’t make it any less shocking. For some reason, her entire composure fell to pieces when it happened, and she had to remove her mask as tears had started flooding the inside. She had to leave immediately, but she knew she couldn’t leave without at least confirming his suspicions. Four words was all she needed, four of the hardest words she had to get out. It took her several seconds to even say the first, but as soon as she spoke, she teleported back to her room, and the first thing she heard was a loud clattering against the wall that bordered Dimitri’s room. While she doesn’t know why, this broke her, and she spent most of the night curled on her bed, sobbing profusely. She got barely an hour of sleep before she had to get up to face this day. 

Now, she sat limply in her saddle, on the verge of passing out but not allowing herself to do so for fear of falling off. 

Byleth notices this, and asks, “You sure you’ll be alright?”

“No,” Edelgard whispers, “I… I couldn’t sleep last night.”

“I know”, Byelth whispers back, “Sothis told me what happened.” Byleth looks around before saying, “Once we set up camp, try to get some sleep. I’ll have an excuse for everyone.”

Edelgard just quietly nods, and does everything she can to keep from falling off her saddle. 

\--------------

Dimitri glares intensely at Edelgard, still reeling from the revelation from last night. He knew he needed to take his eyes off her to avoid suspicion, but he couldn’t. Learning the truth had left him hurt in a way he never knew; not even the Tragedy had left him like this. The reins in his hands protested as his grip tightened. 

“Dimitri,” Claude suddenly says from next to him as he finally tears his eyes away from the princess, “Watch the road, not the princess.”

Dimitri sighs as his gaze drifts away, though with Edelgard in his immediate periphery, he still found it difficult to look forward. 

“Still worked up about last night?” Claude asks quietly, keeping his tone in check as to avoid incurring the wrath of the prince. 

“Why,” Dimitri whispers dangerously, sending a chill rushing up Claude’s spine, “Why did she do this?”

“Have you seen her scars?” Claude asks in response.

Dimitri remembers, in the tea garden, that he had indeed seen what looked like a small scar on her wrist, but it looked as if it led further up her arm. “Yeah…” he tells Claude, “A small one at least.”

“Then whatever you saw is only one of many,” Claude says, “When she’s comfortable, she’ll tell you what happened.”

“Do you know?” Dimitri asks, his poor mood waning as morbid curiosity takes its place. 

“Only a fraction,” Claude answers, “And what she told me was this: She didn’t live because she wasn’t affected by it, she lived because she survived by a hair's width, and the cost was tremendous. That’s all she openly told me, though.”

Dimitri’s eyes return to Edelgard. He didn’t just want answers now, he wanted everything. Every little detail of what had happened to drive her down this path, and maybe, just maybe, help her remember who she once was. 

_ It’s not worth it.  _

_ Why bother.  _

_ Help her.  _

__ ‘What?’ Dimitri subtly balked at the last ghost’s request. ‘Help her?’ 

_ Help her _

_ Don’t! _

_ She’s our enemy! _

__ His ghosts had always been in agreement. Never before had they come to a disagreement that would conflict with his goals. He had long sought to fulfill his ghosts’ desires, but now…

_ Don’t listen _

__

_ Finish the job _

_ Please _

__ Dimitri looked ahead of himself, a new wave of determination as he makes his decision, ‘If she needs to heal from her past, then I’ll help her, but only if she can tell me the whole truth.’

_ Damn you _

_ Burn _

_ Thank you, Dimitri… _

\--------------

_ The roses, sunflowers, and blue tulips seemed as vibrant as ever; although, a dark, overcast sky dampened the serenity of these fields. Edelgard shivered as a strong wind chilled her body, and the rain started pecking the ground as lightning rumbled overhead. ‘Shelter, need shelter…’ she thought, and she turned to face the opposite way, only to be greeted by a desert. She couldn’t see any palace, nor structure, but she did see a distinct path leading deeper into the barren sands.  _

_ Deciding it was her best bet, she followed the path forward, the rain picking up steadily. Lightning struck a nearby bush, lighting it ablaze as Edelgard’s pace quickened. With every strike, her pace grew faster; and with each strike, she heard voices. These voices called to her quotes of her past, the past she knew.  _

_ “Do not fail your mission….” _

__

_ “Why? Why can she hear me now?” _

_ “He… he’d strap me down….” _

_ “That… that was you?” _

_ “Sothis, next time you pull me here, give me… warn...ing....” _

_ “The only one getting hurt is him!” _

_ “Please… I don’t want to hurt her…” _

_ “I’m sorry, did anyone else hear a little girl just now?” _

_ “Why did you do this, Edelgard?” _

_ Upon the last quote, her environment changed. Instead of running through a storming desert, she suddenly finds herself in a throne room, one she can just barely recognize. Everything is silent, and she looks about herself, trying to remember where she was, to no avail. She can hear a sniffling child, though, and she searches the throne room.  _

_ The sniffling, just like the palaces, always seems just out of reach, and she curses herself for chasing ghosts as she turns to face the throne. It’s a far simpler affair compared to Enbarr’s throne, only accented by silver as opposed to being plated gold. She looks it over, finding nothing that could jog her memory.  _

_ She turns to leave the throne, and finds a young girl with lengthy brown hair and twin ponytails looking away from her, sniffling lightly, as if she had just cried. Edelgard takes a cautious step forward, and can hear the child mutter a few words before the dream collapses.  _

_ “Why don’t you remember me?” _

\--------------

Edelgard’s eyes snap open, but she doesn’t immediately rise from her cot. She can feel a dull pain in her head, and her body shivered slightly as a cold sweat had enveloped it. While she’s thankful she has her own tent, it didn’t offer the same soundproofing as her room at Garreg Mach. She immediately suspected her tent neighbors would likely check on her this morning as they awakened. 

She turns her head, and sees that Sothis is standing by the entrance. “How long have you been there?” Edelgard asks groggily. 

“Long enough that a few people came to check on you,” Sothis says, “They didn’t bother entering, though.”

Edelgard groans as she rises from her cot, and a sudden migraine assaults her head. She sits up and rubs her temples, hoping it would desist, to no avail. “Fuck,” she mutters under her breath, “Why now….”

“What’s wrong?” Sothis asks with concern. 

“My head,” Edelgard responds as she tries to get dressed, albeit slowly, “Must’ve eaten something last night.”

“You didn’t eat anything,” Sothis clarifies, “You just set up your tent, and before anyone could stop you, you were out like a rock. I kept an eye on you throughout the night, but you were just having fit after fit.”

Edelgard signs in defeat as she continues dressing herself, and every movement is protested by her aching head. She then attempts to stand, and her migraine only gets worse. 

“Sothis…” Edelgard begins, her speech slightly slurred, “G-get Byleth. I...I’m not...” She loses her equilibrium and almost catches herself on her cot before falling completely, and Sothis rushes out to find Byleth. 

\--------------

Byleth stands outside Edelgard’s tent with several other students nearby, namely Dimitri, Claude, Dorothea, Bernadetta, Petra, and Hubert. Manuela and Hanneman are inside the tent evaluating Edelgard’s health, and the former emerges with a heavy sigh. 

“Will she be alright?” Dorothea immediately asks. 

“Whatever illness she has isn’t life threatening as far as I can tell,” Manuela begins, “But without my office equipment, there is no way I can properly treat it. Hanneman and I’ll have to take her back to Garreg Mach so she can recover.”

Everyone, even Dimitri, looks at the tent with immense concern written on their face, and Petra asks, “Can we see her?”

“I’m afraid not,” Manuela answers, earning a round of disappointed groans, “Unless I can pinpoint the illness, I’m treating it as highly contagious, so I ask that all of you please return to your own tents and start breaking down for the next leg of the journey.” The students all nod before dispersing, though Dimitri throws one last concerned glance at the tent before walking to his own. 

“Are you certain it isn’t life threatening?” Byelth asks Manuela. 

“Absolutely,” Manuela assures, “If I suspected it was even slightly life threatening, I would’ve had you shove the students away while I carried her back to my tent.”

Byleth sighs heavily with relief, and then says, “Thank the Goddess. I don’t know what I would’ve done if she weren’t treatable.”

Manuela giggles lightly before saying, “You and the princess have grown quite close, haven’t you?”

Byleth shrugs and replies, “When you have a sparring partner as good as her, you would want to ensure they remain in the best possible health. That, and it also helps that she is incredibly friendly once you break past her barriers.”

“That I certainly agree with,” Manuela says, “I still remember how stubborn she was at the beginning of the year. Now she can’t seem to get through the week without having to check in with almost every student at the academy now,” Manuela looks behind herself at the tent where Edelgard is, “I do wonder what changed, though.”

‘If only you knew,’ Byleth thinks to herself. 

\--------------

Hubert watched as the wagon with Manuela, Hanneman and a sickly Edelgard pulled away from the convoy back towards Garreg Mach. While Manuela didn’t allow anyone near the princess, she did relay requests and messages through her back to the other students. One such request was that Hubert would remain with the other students and act as temporary house leader until she could recover from her ailment. 

And this assignment terrified him, genuinely. He even shivered in his saddle about as badly as Bernadetta in her first mission because of this. ‘How the Hell can I lead everyone? I’m not cut out for this!’

Ferdinand seems to share this same sentiment, his glare bearing down into his soul. Because of all the stoicism he displayed, his sudden onset of discomfort had drawn  _ everyone’s  _ attention. Even Sylvain, who hadn’t said a thing for several days now, looked at him with mild concern, though his mind is still largely focused on the mission at hand. 

Hubert tore his eyes from the departing wagon as everyone began marching towards the Margraviate. Next to him, Bernadetta rode quietly while staring at him, her pale purple eyes looking him up and down. 

“A-are you going to be alright?” She asks quietly, trying to avoid drawing more attention. 

Hubert shakes his head silently, and answers, “I don’t know. With the Princess out of action and the responsibility of leading falling on  _ my  _ shoulders, I’m at a loss. I’m someone who is meant  _ to  _ serve, not  _ be  _ served.” 

Bernadetta nods along as he speaks, and spends several minutes in silence as she contemplates her response. Then, shocking him and several others who were staring, she pushed her horse just a little closer to him, and she grasped his hand tightly. Hubert stops shaking as he looks at her, and finds a surprisingly confident smile on her face as she says, “I know you must be terrified, but if you need anything, I and the rest of the Eagles are here for you.” 

Hubert is flabbergasted. In months prior, it was always him or Dorothea giving the young girl advice or a push in the right direction. Now, she was the one reassuring him, and he is at a complete loss for words. ‘Since… since when did she grow like this?’ He wanted to ask aloud for anyone to possibly answer, but kept his mouth shut tight. Instead, he simply returns her smile with one of his own, and they lose themselves in each others’ eyes as they continue to ride to the Margraviate. 

\--------------

‘Un-fucking-believable…’ Ferdinand is astounded. First, Bernadetta took Hubert by the hand; second, _she_ gave _him_ advice that he obviously needed, a first for the young girl; and third, they just look so wrong yet so right together. Like a massive beast falling for a delicate flower. 

“Aww,” Dorothea says next to him as she watches the exchange, “She’s finally broken her shell.”

“But why Hubert?” Ferdinand asks, which earns a sharp slap to the back of his head.

“Oh, hush now,” Dorothea replies, “There’s no need to question who they wish to spend their lives with. Besides, I think it’s cute they like each other like this.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call Hubert ‘cute’ but I see what you mean,” Ferdinand grumbles as he rubs the back of his head, “Shame what happened to Edelgard, though.”

“Yeah,” Dorothea says with a sigh, “I keep telling her that she needs to stop overworking herself every day, and now she’s heading back to Garreg Mach as we speak due to what will likely be identified as a preventable illness.”

“Ok,  _ that _ describes her a little too perfectly,” Ferdinand agrees readily, “She’s so focused on getting everything done herself, that she hardly leaves time for a break. What kind of empress will she turn out to be when she inherits the throne if she works herself to illness like this?”

Dorothea visibly shudders, and says, “The thought honestly scares me. I want the best for her, as I do all my friends, both here and at Mittelfrank, but if she keeps this up, I may just have to tie her up and drag her around to get her to relax.”

This causes Ferdinand to laugh hysterically, the image of Edelgard begins dragged along by Dorothea from shop to shop playing in his mind. Dorothea just smiles while shaking her head, slightly regretting giving him such a ridiculous image. Once he calms down, he says, “You have no idea just how much I would  _ pay _ to see that happen for real.”

“Well, I hope you have all the money in Fodlan, because I would never do it willingly,” Dorothea replies, and Ferdinand just shrugs in response. 

\--------------

Lorenz spots Lysithea and Cyril hanging to the edge of the convoy, away from most prying ears. As he discretely edges closer, he can just barely hear their conversation. 

“I just hope she’ll be ok,” Lysithea says with a worried tone, “It’s not often someone like her can get so ill so quickly.”

“I wouldn’t really know what it’s like to not be ill,” Cyril replies, “In fact, I couldn’t even count how many times I’ve gotten sick before I came under Lady Rhea’s care.”

“Really?” Lysithea asks, somewhat shocked.

“Yeah,” Cyril nods dejectedly, “When I was… I was orphaned, I didn’t know where to go. Every night I just hunted for the best shelter I could. Good days yielded unoccupied caves, bad ones under small tree branches. I’ve had many colds, fought off the flu a few times, I even thought I was going to die once when I ate a bad fish and got sick.”

Lysithea just stares at him with wide eyes, and hesitantly asks, “How did you make it?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Cyril replies, “I had just gotten over that fish when Rhea found me, but at that point, I was ready to give up.” Cyril looks down at his wrists, his sleeves riding up to reveal a faint scar from years ago, “But I’m alive now. While I won’t say my situation is the best, it’s still better than what it once was, even if,” Cyril turns his head to face the all too curious noble and yells, “Someone is listening to us when they aren’t supposed to!”

Lorenz hurriedly backs away, but is immediately knocked off his horse by a weak blast of mana from Lysithea. He yelps femininely as he falls, yielding a round of laughter from his friends as he falls in the mud. As he lays dazed in the mud, the rest of the convoy passes by, no one bothering to help the poor noble.

\--------------

Late the next day, Sylvain’s scowl softened as he watched a small town come into view. ‘Finally, I’m home….’ He had spent many years in this town, and although they knew his reputation for chasing skirts to and fro, unlike Garreg Mach, the people here immensely enjoyed his rather crass sense of humor and placed a lot of faith in him to inherit his father’s title and defend them from any threat that could come. And tomorrow would be no exception. 

He watches as the tired Knights start cheering weakly as they spot the town as well, only for Jeralt to yell, “None of you are to enter the town until I say so!” Which results in a series of groans. As for the students, Byleth had given everyone permission to enter the town so long as they returned to the camp by sundown. 

As Sylvain enters the town on foot, he takes a deep breath through his nose, taking in the scents he had grown up with: the fresh bread from the bakery he always frequented, every perfume the women all used, the smoky oak emanating from the butcher’s personal smoking shack, even the ground hops from the tavern’s probably illegal brewery. All the good memories of his childhood came rushing back to him. 

“Hah…” Sylvain sighs contently, a grin finally returning to his face, “Nothing quite like home.”

“Finally,” he hears from Ingrid next to him. He looks at her incredulously as she hastily turns her head away from him. 

“You say something?” he asks.

“Nothing,” Ingrid replies innocently, still looking away at the resident tailor’s shop. 

Sylvain rolls his eyes as he allows himself to relax. ‘So long as I’m here, nothing can go wrong…,’ he thinks to himself. 

Unfortunately for him, fate has another idea as he hears the one pet name he feared the most, from the person he feared more than anyone else. “Oh, Syllllllviiiiiiiie!”

Sylvain’s pupils shrink down to pinpricks, and he goes rigid as he stops in his tracks. ‘Oh Goddess, not her…’

“Sylvain?” Ingrid asks when he freezes up, “Is something wrong?”

“Run,” Sylvain says quickly, not even waiting for confirmation from Ingrid as he grabs her hand and all but drags her along as he sprints through the town. 

Ingrid yelps in surprise, and throws a look down the road they came from, not seeing anything that could’ve spooked Sylvain so bad. “Sylvain!” She calls out as they turn a corner, “What are we running from?”

“Magpie!” He shouts back at her. Ingrid looks around and spots their friends tilting their heads with confusion while the townspeople are far less concerned and more just accepting what was happening. 

“Who?” she asks back, only for Sylvain to slide to a stop in the middle of the town market, nearly bringing her down on her face. Once she regains balance, she spots a young girl, possibly no older than ten, with raggedy, short, curly black hair and piercing grey eyes, looking dreamily up at Sylvain.

“I found you, Sylvie!” She suddenly exclaims, throwing her arms up in jubilation. Sylvain’s eyes dart around, looking for a possible escape, but alas, the young ‘Magpie’ throws her arms around him, burying her head in his stomach as she says, “Now you're all mine!”

Ingrid looks around, trying to see if this girl has any parents around while also avoiding the curious gazes of their friends when she hears from ‘Magpie’, “Who’s this old broad?”

Ingrid, now positively offended, says, “Wha- excuse me?!”

‘Magpie’ lets go of Sylvain and plants her hands on her hips as she says, with every ounce of sass in the town, “Well, I don’t know who you are, but this man is MINE,” she shouts, causing Ingrid to cringe as her ears start ringing, “So if you want anything to do with him, you need to go through me! So answer me, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?”

Ingrid is completely shocked at this girl’s attitude, and fails to make a coherent answer, “UM...I… uh….”

‘Magpie’ then grabs Ingrid's coat and pulls her down, looking her dead in the eyes while shouting, “ANSWER ME YOU BITCH!!”

“GIRLFRIEND!” Ingrid shouts in a panic, drawing everyone’s attention immediately. She cringes slightly as she feels even Dorothea’s eyes snap to her as she struggles to say, “I...I’m Sylvain’s… girl...friend…,” her voice getting quieter and quieter as she realizes what she said. 

‘Magpie’ freezes, her grip on Ingrid’s collar lock tight, her face twisted with shock. Her head lowers to look at the ground. Ingrid can see drops of tears falling from the girl, and asks hesitantly, “M-magpie?” 

‘Magpie’ lets go of Ingrid’s collar, only to ball her left hand into a fist, pulling back, and punching Ingrid square in the cheekbone, rattling her teeth and knocking her to the ground. As she cradles her now raw cheek, she can hear Sylvain crying out in pain, and she looks to see that he had also fallen to the ground as he cradles his crotch. 

‘Magpie’, now ravenous with fury, shouts so loud the windows shudder, “WHY DID YOU CHEAT ON ME YOU MANWHORE!!!”

“MAGDALENE!” A woman suddenly shouts, causing the young girl to freeze up stiff. An older woman approaches from an apothecary's shop, a bag of herbs slung in her arm. Ingrid notices that her hair is as black as the little girls, but less raggedy with more organized curls. “What have I told you about messing with men, least of all this one?”

“But MooOOOooom,” Magdalene says in a way only a spoilt child could say, “He cheated on me…”

“And you are much too young to be chasing men, young lady,” the girl’s apparent mother says firmly, “Besides, there are plenty of other noblemen out there that are closer to your age and much less licentious than this louse,” she kicks Sylvain like a wounded dog as he groans with renewed pain, “Come along, we have errands to run.” The woman points her nose up high, turning her heels and grabbing her daughter’s hand to start walking away. But before she can, her face is greeted by a rather forceful slap from none other than Dorothea.

“Some ‘lady’ you are,” she spits angrily, “What kind of mother would teach their daughter to be so… so… bitchy,” Dorothea struggles to find a more appropriate word, but settles for a more common term instead.

The woman stares aghast at the songstress, before saying, “Who do you think you are?”

“Dorothea Arnault, songstress of the Mittelfrank opera company, and student of Garreg Mach Officer’s Academy,” she says with immense pride and dignity, “I also happen to be close friends with the princess of the Adrestian Empire, the prince of the Kingdom of Faerghus, and have more noble connection’s than you could ever possibly hope for. So tell me, can you answer the same if I asked you.” Dorothea’s grin grows larger as the woman’s face grows paler and paler as Ingrid grins thankfully at her friend. 

“I believe that is enough,” a man suddenly calls over the gathered crowd, drawing everyone’s attention. Dorothea looks over the man and notices he has reddish hair, similar to Sylvain’s, though traces of grey and silver are visible. He stands very casually, like Sylvain as well, and his grin shows that he is more bemused by the situation than irate. The man steps forward and says, “I ask that you, miss,” he points to Magdalene's mother, “Please take your child and never return to my territory and that you, miss,” he now points at Dorothea, “Find one of your faith practicing classmates so they can help my son and miss Galatea.”

\--------------

After several minutes, Margrave Gautier and his personal guard had the town market cleared out save for the students and a rather tired Byleth, who had arrived after the incident took place. 

“For all the trouble he gets into,” Byleth says while staring at a slowly recovering Sylvain, “I didn’t expect this.”

The Margrave shrugs his shoulders as he says, “‘Magpie’ became the town menace when her mother arrived. I had been looking for an excuse to ban her from here for a while now, and, well…, her child has attacked Sylvain. I couldn’t just ban a child, but when the mother kicked my son, I knew I had my excuse.”

“So you used your own son as bait?” Byleth asks while leveling the noble a flat glare. 

Again, he just shrugs his shoulders and answers, “Circumstances are circumstances. If it could’ve been avoided, I wouldn’t’ve gone for it.” He then turns to face Byleth and extends his hand, saying, “I am Margrave Sylvester Gautier, by the way.”

“Professor Byleth Eisner,” she replies while shaking his hand, “I actually teach the Golden Deer, though, not the Blue Lions.”

“Ahhhh, so long as my son can grow under you, it doesn’t matter what house you teach,” Sylvester says while throwing his hands up nonchalantly, “I will say, though; Ingrid, of all women, is not who I expected.”

Byleth tilts her head in confusion as she had missed Ingrid’s exclamation, but Dorothea is quick to whisper what happened into Byleth’s ear, causing the woman to raise her eyebrow at the blond haired girl. “Ooohhh,” Byleth says with realization, “Yeah… do you know what happened between them at Garreg Mach?”

“Why do you think I’m so surprised?” Sylvester replies with a cheeky grin, “But she has a good head between her shoulders, and she’s had to deal with him and his antics for years. I would have no problem with them actually getting together if it’s true. Hell, I’ll even personally finance her family’s entire territory if she can rein him in a bit.”

Byleth nods her head at this, and looks as Ingrid does her best impression of a turtle as her classmates bombard her with question after question. 

\--------------

Later that night, the students, professors, and knights were invited back to the Margraves estate for a welcoming party, though the definition of ‘party’ is a bit stretched as it was largely more of a large dinner with no music, dancing, or other forms of frivolous entertainment. The Margrave knew why they had come, and knew that any form of partying would only prove detrimental for the student’s moral. He had led the professors and Captain Jeralt back to his personal office to discuss the most recent raids made by Miklan’s bandits while the students kept themselves entertained. 

Felix steps into one of the guest rooms, one that he actually has used multiple times when visiting Sylvain in the past, and quietly peaks behind one of the dressers to see a sizable hole in the wall. “Yep, still there,” he whispers with a small smile, reminiscing the exact cause of this hole.

“What are you looking at?” Annette suddenly asks inquisitively while peeking through the door. 

Felix looks up briefly to look at her and replies, “Just remembering some old memories.” He waves her over and shows her the hole behind the dresser, “That was when Sylvain, Dimitri and I were much younger and still had no concept of noble life yet. This was even before Miklan became who he is now, though he was still a massive piece of work then.”

“What happened?” Annette asks.

“Sylvain had proposed hide and seek as a fun thing to do at the time, so he started counting down. I decided to hide behind this dresser while Dimitri went off somewhere else. Sylvain finished counting, and he came into this room. He looked around for a little bit, and decided to rest against the dresser for some reason. He pinned me against the wall, and the wall gave out.” Felix’s smile grows as he continues, “You have no idea just how scared we were when I got out of the wall. We panicked and tried everything to fix it, but then Sylvain suggested that we just move the dresser back in front of it. It’s been like this ever since.”

“Wow,” Annette throws a concerned look back at the hole and asks, “How did the Margrave not find out?” 

“If I’m honest,” Felix scratches the back of his head and says, “I think he’s known all this time. The sound was rather loud, so I just think he heard us panicking so bad that he just let it go and hasn’t said anything. Ingrid was worse, though.” Felix shudders at the memory, “I will say this, I loved her like a sister, I still do now, but by the Goddess was she a demon growing up. What she did to Sylvain a month ago used to happen regularly. When she found out, Sylvain and I were running to the hills while she chased us with a lance and a sword, literally.”

“Ok…” Annette shakes warily as the thought of Ingrid being so vicious frightened her, before asking, “What happened to Dimitri, then?”

Felix sighs regrettably and says, “We forgot about him. Once we came back, the King had been looking for Dimitri and had the whole town put under lockdown. For all the trouble we had to go through to find him, the fact that he had gotten on the roof somehow didn’t help matters at all.” 

“How did he get on the roof?” 

“I don’t know,” Felix replies as they leave the room, “I just remember King Lambert having a fit of laughter while grabbing my father’s shoulders, exclaiming how he knew he was raising his son right while my father was doing it wrong.” Felix shakes his head and says, “Shame life isn’t so easy when reality hits you. All it took as a few years for everything to come undone.”

Annette nods at this, remembering when her father came home in tears with news of the King’s death in Duscur. Then a few days later, her father left without another word. She looks up at Felix and asks, “This might be unrelated, but what are your thoughts on Ingrid and Sylvain getting together? As a couple?”

Felix steps out onto an open balcony and replies quietly, “I don’t know. I’ve known Ingrid and my brother’s arrangement to marry her all my life, and initially, I wasn’t sure what to think of her. As time drew on, though, I started to see her as a sister of sorts.” Felix spots Ingrid from the balcony, venturing out to a hill where she and Glenn used to spend time together. “Once Glenn and the King died, though, our whole world fell apart. Dimitri never cried, and to this day, I still think he hasn’t cried once for anything. The Tragedy changed him. As for Ingrid and I, I think a wedge just formed between us in the months after. We hardly ever spoke to each other, never even wrote to each other. If it weren’t for Sylvain and his constant attempts to help us, to ‘fix us’ as he put it, we would’ve been strangers going into the academy.” He watches Ingrid from a distance as she kneels on the hill to pray, and secretly hopes that she can move on and find happiness once again, “I only want the best for her now, and I sincerely hope that, if they do get together, it’s for the best.”

Annette nods, satisfied with the answer, but gets a confused look as she asks, “You said Dimitri hasn’t cried once since the tragedy?” Felix nods as Annette then says, “But… I thought I heard him crying a few nights ago after something broke in his room.”

Felix looks at the young girl and asks, “What do you mean?”

Annette continues, “Well, I had just finished my work for the night and was getting ready for bed when I just heard this loud crash from his room. I'm pretty sure I heard him sobbing right after, and I think I also heard the princess crying as well.”

Felix looks away from Annette and down at the ground below. ‘What happened to make them both cry? Is it the reason the princess is sick and Dimitri glared at her so much?’

“What do you think happened?” Annette asks worriedly.

“I fear what it might be,” Felix answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any one asks, this isn't the last we see of 'Magpie'. I have plans in the works for her, and they ain't pretty. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, sorry for the lack of any real action moments besides my continued abuse of Sylvain (I don't hate him, it's just how it worked out) but next week, we have a battle in a crumbling tower to look forward to as well as a surprise (or two) with in the chapter. See y'all.


	20. Remember When

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “If I only knew  
> Then what I know now...”- Bad Wolves

The next morning, Jeralt, Byleth, Dimitri, Claude, and Hubert gather in the main dining hall to discuss their strategy. 

“Based on the scouting reports from the Margrave,” Jeralt begins, “We’d have to break into the tower to even confront them. It also doesn’t help that the tower is unstable and would likely collapse if put under too much stress.”

“Meaning sieging the tower is out of the question,” Dimitri concludes, “If Miklan didn’t have the Lance of Ruin in his possession, it would’ve been our first option.”

“Retrieving the Lance should be our first priority,” Byleth states, “The sooner we can get it away from him, the better chance we have at stopping him.”

“I second this,” Claude says, “While he may not possess a crest, the Lance on its own is incredibly dangerous, and we simply don’t know what will happen if it remains in his hands for too long.”

Jeralt nods at everyone’s observations, and continues, “Given what we are up against, the less experienced knights will remain here with Catherine, Shamir and I while Gilbert, Alois, and Professor Jeritza will join you and the other students.”

“Do we have an estimated number of bandits we will face?” Hubert asks. 

“About thirty, maybe forty if our count is off,” Jeralt answers, “Several of them will likely be guarding the outside of the tower, while the rest will take up positions on the inside. The actual structure of the tower is divided into seven floors, with staircases leading to each floor on opposite ends.”

“You’re saying that to get to another floor, we have to cross each one to get to another staircase?” Claude asks with confusion. Jeralt nods at the young boy, causing him to say, “What kind of design is that?”

“It’s for defensive purposes,” Dimitri answers, “It makes traversing the tower a burden on the occupying soldiers, yes, but it also keeps any possible attackers from entering and clearing the tower too quickly.”

“And unfortunately it’s working against us,” Byleth adds, “I pray that when we do confront Miklan, it isn’t too late.”

Everyone nods, and Jeralt says, “Then we’d best not waste time. I’ll alert the Knights to prepare for your departure while you all gather the other students. Be ready to leave in thirty minutes.”

\--------------

Catherine watched as the students began their march for the occupied watchtower, shaking her head and saying to Shamir next to her, “I feel like I should be with them.”

“I feel the same way,” Shamir says while nodding, “But our orders stand. Once they enter the forest, we are taking the long way around to reach the tower.”

“Does the Captain not have faith in the students?” asks John, who is also assigned to this task due to his more than satisfactory sword wielding skills.

“Not so much that,” Catherine replies, “But more as emergency backup and clean out, just in case.”

“Fair enough,” John says, “Better to have help in arms reach than miles away.”

Shamir nods at him before turning her head to face Anna, who had volunteered to help, and asks her, “I hope you’re not expecting some kind of reward out of this.”

Anna shakes her head with a small smile and answers, “I’m doing this as a favor to Byleth. She’s half the reason I ended up setting my shop permanently in the market at Garreg Mach, and she and the students have been incredibly wonderful people to meet. Not to mention,” She leans back and looks at John, “I also have to watch John’s back should he get distracted.”

“Oh, have a little faith, my dear,” John retorts, “We’re I not the one that had to catch a falling box that would’ve taken you out?”

“Please don’t start,” Catherine orders, “We have a mission that needs our attention first, so I suggest that we focus.” She looks up and watches as the last students disappear into the tree line. “They’re in the forest, let’s move.” Catherine takes the lead, spurring her horse to go around the forest to reach the tower as Shamir, Anna, and John follow.

\--------------

Ingrid and Sylvain walk silently next to each other at the back of the convoy, neither daring to look at the other’s direction. Sylvain appeared distant, his mind already sealed away from the upcoming battle against his brother. As for Ingrid, she seemed nervous, though not for the confrontation at hand.

‘Why the Hell did I scream ‘Girlfriend’?’ she asked herself inwardly, ‘All it did was make the situation worse for us. Not like it’s true or anything….’ For some reason, Ingrid’s heart sinks at this thought. She briefly glances at Sylvains direction, biting her lip as she asks, “Sylvain?”

Sylvain just barely turns his head towards her, just enough so that his ear faces her. She continues and says, “Listen, about yesterday, I… just wanted to-”

“Not now,” Sylvain whispers. Ingrid immediately stops when she hears how pained his whisper is, and he continues, “Just… save it for after the battle.”

Ingrid steps ahead of him just enough to glimpse at his face before he turns away, and can see a few wet trails under his eyes. Ingrid steps back in line with him and asks, “You don’t want to fight him, do you?”

She can hear Sylvain take an unsteady breath, and sees his fists clenched tighter as he says, “I… I need to do this Ingrid. If Miklan… is going to die today, it needs to be me. Just….” Sylvain stops talking and Ingrid can tell he’s on the verge of breaking. 

Throwing her own reservations away, she takes hold of his hand and says, “Don’t.” Sylvain abruptly turns his head to her, his eyes slightly red from the tears he had shed. “You don’t need to do it, Sylvain. Don’t make yourself do something you know you’ll regret.”

Sylvain looks away when Ingrid finishes, and replies, “And what if no one else can?”

Ingrid doesn’t have an answer, and just looks away shamefully. She tries to pull away from Sylvain to deal with her own thoughts, but Sylvain's grip only grows tighter, keeping her by his side. Ingrid looks back at Sylvain, and sees his eyes turned to her, as if asking her to stay. Ingrid simply nods, and they walk like this, hand in hand, to the tower.

\--------------

“Hey, Miklan!” A bandit calls out, drawing the beastly man’s attention, “I think the church’s sent some company for us to handle.”

Miklan walks to a small hole in the crumbling wall and sees the first of the students emerging from the tree line, just out of range for his archers. He snorts dismissively at this and asks, “Is my brother among them?”

The bandit chuckles evilly, catching on to Miklan’s intentions and replies, “I’m fairly certain I saw him. He’s holding hands with that blond haired woman.”

“Really?” Miklan asks, moderately confused as he turns back to the bandit, “Was her hair braided?”

“Now that you mention it… yeah, it was braided,” The bandit answers. 

Miklan laughs loudly as he hefts the Lance of Ruin onto his shoulder, and shouts to the others, “So, it seems my little brother got snagged by none other than Lady Ingrid Galatea.” 

Most of the other bandits uproar with laughter, but one bandit asks, “So you’re saying kill them last?”

“Oh, where’s your creativity,” another shouts back, “I say we make them suffer. They both have crests, do they not?”

“Exactly,” Miklan replies with a sadistic grin, “We will make them rue the day they were born. Leave my brother to me, but keep Galatea alive. I have a few special things in mind for her.”

“And what of the rest?” the first bandit asks as he readies his sword.

Miklan’s grin only grows more sadistic as he says, “Kill them all. Let none live to see the sun again once they enter this tower. If you're so inclined as to claim a woman or two, though, I won’t stop you. Just make sure they’re dead once you’re finished.”

Once his bandits rush down the stairs to prepare for the battle, Miklan is left alone, his evil smile replaced with a frown of doubt. He looks back out the window and spots his brother immediately, and sure enough, his hand is held by Ingird’s. 

Miklan sighs as he walks back to the center of the room, and says to himself, “You will likely succeed this day, brother. You and your classmates' strength might overwhelm my own. I highly doubt the others will get what they wish, but that won’t stop me until we face each other. Only one of us will walk out of this tower alive today…” Miklan grimaces as the Lance’s power shoots through him, causing immeasurable pain, “All I ask is that you are the one to finish this.” 

\--------------

Byleth looked up at the tower, and counted at least twelve arrow slits, and maybe a death hole over the main entrance. She turns to Claude and says, “I’m honestly at a loss. If they have archers occupying those arrow slits, we could be in for one Hell of a run.”

“And that death hole above the entrance doesn’t help either,” Claude rubs his chin as he turns to Alois and asks, “Don’t suppose we could throw a few explosive spells at the wall to make a new door?”

“Given how unstable the tower is,” Alois begins, “Making a hole in the wall would just bring the tower down, and we need to retrieve the Holy Relic intact.”

“Then charging forward might be our only option,” Dimitri says, drawing their attention, “No one will like it, but it’s our best bet at getting into the tower.”

“But that’s just suicide,” Hubert replies from next to him, “I’d rather not run into my death and make fools out of all of us.”

“Got any better ideas then?” Dimiri asks, visibly irritated.

While Dimitri and Hubert argue over a possible plan, Byleth notices Bernadetta sigh with frustration and marches herself into the open field. Several other students call out to her, trying to warn her of the imminent danger, but she stops just short of the bandit archers’ range. Dimitri and Hubert stare at the girl silently as she sizes up the tower. She kneels down and rips a fist full of grass from the dirt, and lets it go in the wind. She tilts her head down, and she draws an arrow from her quiver. She looks back at the tower, pulls the arrow to full draw with her bow and, much to everyone’s shock, sends the arrow straight through the narrow arrow slit, and a cry of pain from within the tower reverberates through the field. 

Without wasting time, Bernadetta notches another arrow and does the same thing to each arrow slit, some resulting in cries of pain, others with silence. Once all twelve slits had been hit, Bernadetta rises to her feet and signals for everyone to step forward closer. 

Once everyone hesitantly reaches her, she scans the tower once more. Her eyes narrow as she watches one slit in particular that sat three stories up. She calmly walked forward while making everyone else stay back, entering the range of the bandits. Suddenly, an arrow comes flying out of a different slit entirely, this one on the fifth floor, but Bernadetta deftly dodges the arrow and retaliates with one of her own, likely killing the bandit inside. 

Bernadetta gets a rather smug grin as she rises to her feet and declares, “We’re good, we can move forward now,” and walks to the wall by the tower's door.

Everyone, even the ever unfeeling Jeritza and normally stoic Gilbert, stare at the young girl in utter shock, though Hubert had to turn away to hide his reaction from everyone else. 

“Ok,” Dorothea begins as they start marching to the tower, no arrows flying the entire time, “Who is she and what has she done with Bernie?”

“I didn’t think she could pull that off,” Ferdinand replies, “What the Hell happened?”

“I suddenly feel useless now,” Claude says, looking at his disused enchanted bow, “She didn’t even hesitate.”

“Speak for yourself,” Ignatz says while Leonie begrudgingly nods along, “At least you have an enchanted weapon as opposed to something ordinary.”

“At least I took up lessons with a lance,” Ashe says while slinging his bow across his back, “Not a fan of getting up close and personal, though.”

“I would say something,” Jeritza says in his usual monotone voice, though his eyes told a different story, “But I fear Hubert is distracted.”

“No kidding,” Dimitri says as he stares at the man, who tried to look stoic though his raging hard on didn’t help his countenance. 

\--------------

“Uh… Miklan!” One of the bandits shouts up the stairs. 

The man in question descends down, and glares at the man before asking, “What’s happened?”

“They… um… they killed the archers.”

Miklan blinks quietly at the man, and asks, “Did they send all their archers against us. The odds of a large bombardment hitting one of our men through-”

“Nope, just one did it.” The bandit interrupts, silencing Miklan. 

“Just one?” Miklan asks slowly, to which the bandit nods nervously, “Only one student… which one?”

“The purple haired girl,” the bandit answers, “She just stepped forward and shot an arrow through each slit. Didn’t even phase her.”

Miklan blinks slowly at the man before saying, “Very well then,” before violently beheading the bandit before him, sending his head rolling down the stairs as a shower of blood coats the floor. Miklan glares at the ground while saying, “I have underestimated you all.” Another surge of power from the lance brings him to his knee, and he can feel it taking hold of his body, “Perhaps… no. You won’t have time. Not with the bandits that I’ve hired. I hope you’re ready, brother. This final test is for you.”

\--------------

“By the Holy Goddess,” John says with amazement as he and the other three had watched Bernadetta’s silent attack from the tree line, hidden from view, “Here I thought you could use a bow well, Shamir.”

“Another word, and I’ll use you for target practice,” Shamir replies with a sneer, quite envious of the younger girl’s natural skill.

“I hardly expected her to be able to do that without hesitating, though,” Anna observes, “I still remember the day before I opened my permanent shop for the first time, I had seen her just walking around completely lifeless. Now, though…”

“It’s a shame her father is as worthless as they come in terms of nobles,” Catherine says, “If he had half a mind, he would’ve allowed her to cultivate her natural skill and become far fiercer than she is now. Instead,” Catherine shudders, “He’s a monster through and through.”

“I’m guessing Dorothea told you her story?” Anna asks, to which the tanner woman nods in confirmation.

John gets a grin as he says, “If she’s smart, she’d run from that man the first chance she gets to enlist. With who she enlists with, that’s her decision.” 

“Preferably the knights,” Shamir says, “But given what she’s been through and who her friends are, she’ll likely find solace within the Empire’s ranks.” 

“Unfortunately,” Catherine says, “But, for some reason, I feel it will be for the better.”

“Agreed,” Anna nods before saying, “Do we follow them in now?”

“Yes, but stay quiet,” Catherine confirms, “We don’t need them to know we are here yet.” The three knights and lone merchant quietly cross the field.

\--------------

The students all disperse on the first floor, finding it largely empty save for a few empty chests and an old trap that has long since ceased function. Dimitri and Dedue are the ones to find the stairs leading up, and gather everyone together while Ashe scouts the next floor. Once everyone’s together, Ashe brings back his report. 

“I saw at least four, maybe five coming down the stairs across the other side, and it looks like the floors collapsed on the level above this one,” He taps the floor above as he explains, “I am more than willing to bet they are going to use that to their advantage.”

“We did take out their archers, though,” Ferdinand starts, but quickly corrects himself, “Well, Bernadetta did, but that’s besides the point. In what way could they use an opening in the floor to their advantage?”   
  


“Even an unskilled archer can still be lethal at close range,” Leonie states, “Some of the other bandits might have taken the bows and are positioned at the holes.”

“We go around the long way then,” Byleth declares, “We may get cornered like this, but we will be fighting face to face without the risk of getting shot from overhead.” 

The students nod at this, and Dedue declares, “I’ll lead then,” And hefts his shield up to provide cover for the students climbing the stairs behind him. He peaks over the landing to find the hall empty, and the hole above the floor that Ashe had mentioned. Sure enough, though he almost missed it, he catches a bandit’s boot just on the edge of the hole, before it quickly steps away. 

Nodding to the students behind him, Dedue steps up onto the floor, his shield still raised defensively, and moves forward down the hall quietly. His classmates follow suit, keeping their eyes trained on the hole in the ceiling, while watching the branching halls next to them as they walk. 

Dedue stops just before he reaches the center of the hallway, and looks over his shield. “Dimitri,” He whispers back. 

“Yeah?” The prince asks, to which Dedue nods his head towards the hall. Dimitri steps forward, looking over Dedue’s shield and a tripwire running across the hall. Dimitri sniffs dismissively and turns back to everyone else and says, “Tripwire, likely a trap.”

“I got this,” Byleth says, stepping forward and gently pulling Dedue back. She walks forward and pours a small amount of power in the Sword of the Creator, causing it to glow slightly and start segmenting into a whip. She swings the blade over her head, and sends its tip flying at the tripwire in question, cutting it. Once cut, an alarm bell rings in the room next to the hall, and an ax swings out from the room’s door. On que, five bandits emerge from the neighboring rooms, but when they look at Byleth, she swings the Sword at them, severing limbs and splitting open chests in brutal fashion. 

Once the blades return to their original shape, Byleth turns back to her students, most of whom are impressed by the display, though a few others, namely Linhardt, seem a little nauseated by the sight.

“You have become quite familiar with the Sword, Byleth,” Alois says from the back, “Maybe we could’ve sent just you in and settled this with little fuss.”

“I would agree, but the sword draws too much of my mana supply to do that repeatedly,” Byleth explains as she rubs her eyes tiredly, “Perhaps if I spent more time training with it later, I’ll be better off.”

“A shame then,” Jeritza observes, “We’d best move forward before they send more down here.” 

“Yes,” Hubert agrees, “It won’t do us any good to fight on a stairwell.”

The other students and a silent Gilbert nod as they continue their ascent.

\--------------

_ Meanwhile, at Garreg Mach… _

__ Edelgard is sitting in her chair in her room, wrapped in her blanket tightly while resting her head on her window. Her migraine has been nulled somewhat thanks to the medication Manuela had given her, though it would likely still be a few days before she would recover from her illness. She didn’t like sitting and doing nothing, though; it made her feel useless. ‘I’m stuck here, with some damn illness, while my friends are risking their lives right now to recover an overpowered weapon from a madman.’

“Hey, Edelgard?” she hears a voice call out. She turns to find Sothis standing at the foot of her bed, her face filled with concern. 

The princess grins slightly at the Goddess as she replies quietly, “Hey…” before shifting her chair to face her, her head protesting every move.

“How’ve you been feeling?” Sothis asks, taking a seat on Edelgard’s bed.

“Like shit,” Edelgard replies with a sigh, “I shouldn’t be here.”

“Existentially, metaphorically, or literally?” Sothis asks with a mischievous smile. 

Edelgard rolls her eyes while chuckling at the joke, and answers, “All three, maybe? This last week, it’s just…” She shakes her head and closes her eyes as her smile runs away, “It’s just been Hell. I… I feel like I just betrayed… one of the closest friends I have when… I had barely even known him for five months. I feel guilty for things I know I never did, and yet…” Edelgard stops speaking as tears roll down her cheek, and she sniffles quietly.

Sothis nods her head as she, too, has a somber look on her face and says, “But he knows the truth now, does he not?” Edelgard looks the Goddess in the eyes as she continues, “The thing about knowing the truth isn’t the immediate reaction. You saw how quickly Dimitri attacked you, and I’m sure you heard his reaction through the wall once you did tell him the truth. The next day, even though he could’ve easily overpowered Claude and I was of no real help, he didn’t try anything once he did see you, and that’s good. Once you tell him everything else that has happened to you, then I’m certain he’ll come around.”

Edelgard looks at the ground as Sothis speaks. She bites her lip, and asks a question that she has had since they met, “How much… do you really know about me and the others?”

Sothis tilts her head slightly and asks, “What do you mean?”

Edelgard takes a calming breath before looking the Goddess directly in the eye and says, “Byleth has gotten along with everyone incredibly well these last few months. Normally this isn’t a bad thing, but…” Edelgard looks away briefly, searching for the right words, “The way she behaves, the way she treats everyone. She already knows everyone’s likes and dislikes, and plays into their personalities like… like she’s known them all her life.”

Sothis’s eyes grow wide as Edelgard explains, somewhat shocked at how observant the princess is. “What… theories have you come up with?” She asks cautiously.

Edelgard pulls her blanket tighter as a sudden chill runs down her back, and answers, “You never lied about knowing Byleth for eight years; that, I can believe. But… when I spoke with Hubert after I told the truth to Claude, he mentioned that Byleth had seen and done things that, in her words, would’ve driven her own father to madness.” Edelgard hesitantly stands from her chair and faces the window, her blanket still draped over her shoulders. She closes her eyes as she continues, “You don’t just know who we are. You know the fate that awaits us, not because you see it coming, but because you’ve already seen our fate come to pass, possibly more than once.”

Sothis’s jaw hangs agape, shocked that Edelgard was able to piece the puzzle together. “I… I… how? How did you…?”

“It took a lot of time to figure you both out,” Edelgard says as she turns to face the Goddess, a smile having returned to her face, “But… I understand why you and Byleth wanted to fix this.”

“Well…” Sothis scratches the back of her head as she says, “Considering that you an-,”

“Don’t.” Edelgard says, bringing Sothis to silence, “I don’t need to hear of a future that will never come, not this time at least. Besides, knowing Byleth cares so much about us as to challenge fate itself… is comforting.”

Edelgard steps towards her bed and kneels down, pulling her trunk containing the Emperor of Flames armor out. She opens the trunk and is greeted by the mask, stained with the blood of too many innocent lives. 

“What are you going to do now?” Sothis asks, now standing over Edelgard’s shoulder with a grin of her own.

Edelgard’s grin only grows, her migraine finally subsiding as she says, “The right thing...”

\--------------

Catherine, John, Shamir, and Anna silently follow the students as they ascend floor after floor. Although the students proved themselves capable fighters, the fact that the four of them have fought eight stray bandits so far proved the students still had much to learn. 

“I can see why Jeralt is having us follow them now,” John states as he withdraws his sword from bandit number nine, “They need to be more aware.”

“Yep,” Anna agrees as she wipes blood off her ax, “You would think they’d learn a thing or two from the issues they had in Gaspard.”

“Don’t remind me,” Shamir grumbles as she looks at the stairwell leading up, “I was certain Catherine had been killed when I heard her scream like that.”

“I had been awhile since I had taken a hit at the time,” Catherine clarifies, “I had almost forgotten what it felt like when it happened.”

“But,” Anna says as she follows Shamir to the stairs, “You’re alive and not disabled. I’d consider that a win given the fate most of the other knights faced when against him.”

“I certainly agree,” Catherine says as she nods at the red haired woman, “Let’s continue up and see if-,” Suddenly, the entire tower starts shuddering, causing John and Anna to lose their balance as Catherine and Shamir brace against the wall for stability. 

“Oh shit!” John screams, “I think the tower’s collapsing!”

“Not likely,” Shamir shouts back as the shaking subsides, “If it was, we’d already be buried under rubble.”

“Whatever that was,” Anna says, “I hope the students are at least alright.” 

Once they regain their senses, they run over to and up the stairs to reach the next floor. Before they reach it, though, they are stopped by a deafening, unnatural roar from above, and an equally loud crashing of wood and stone. 

\--------------

The students emerge on the final floor, and are greeted by twelve remaining bandits and Miklan on the far end. The students fan out into a defensive formation, but Sylvain steps forward, against Ingrid’s advice, and calls out, “Miklan!”

The man in questions immediately locks eyes with his younger brother, and sniffs dismissively while replying, “Well, it seems we really underestimated you all.”

“Why are you doing this?!” Sylvain calls out, drawing laughter from the myriad of remaining bandits.

“Is it not obvious, kid?” One bandit taunts, “You have something he does not, and you and all the other crest bearing shitstains deserve to die for it!”

“Yeah!” Another bandits calls, “What good reason do you have to think so highly of yourselves, anyway.” The other bandits taunt along in agreement, while Miklan stands quietly behind them all, expertly hiding his pained expression.

Dorothea steps forward, and scoffs at the bandits’ cat calls as she says, “Honestly, if you have such a problem with crest bearers, then you should’ve just left Fodlan altogether.”

“Why?” The first bandit asks, “What fun could we have if we can’t torment those with crests?”

Dorothea shoots an irritated glare at the bandit, and starts charging a thunder spell as Sylvain calls, “Answer me, Miklan!”

Miklan looks up, glaring at his younger brother as he says with seething anger, “You. It had always been you.”

Sylvain grits his teeth as Ingrid places herself next to him, holding his hand tightly as she calls, “It can’t be just Sylvain, something else had to have happened.”

“I should’ve inherited the Margraviate,” Miklan shouts, ignoring Ingrid, “I should’ve become Margrave, instead, father chose you over me because of that damn crest. And guess what, the one time I protested, he disowned me. Left me on the streets to rot away and fade into nothing.” Miklan snarls as the Lance of Ruin begins to glow ominously.

“Sylvain,” Dimitri calls as he and the other students inch away, “Get back here, it’s too dangerous now!” 

As a black, slimy fog pours from the Lance, Miklan continues, “I chose to do this so my name isn’t forgotten, so that all will fear me, and that all will run.” The black fog creeps up his arm, around his torso, and fully engulfs him. As the hulking mass grows, the entire tower shakes as the power builds, bringing the bandits close to the mass to the ground as the students fall themselves, though Ingrid and Sylvain remain standing. 

The mass takes shape, resembling a massive hybrid between a wolf, a lion, and a lizard, with rows of sharp teeth and piercing red eyes. The shaking in the tower stops once the beast takes form. Everyone stares at the beast in mute shock, even the bandits seem to edge closer to the students for safety. The beast, after looking down upon its prey, heaves its upper body into the air, unleashing an ungodly, screeching roar, deafening everyone on that floor. Then, it brought its body back down, breaking through the floor and bringing almost everyone with it, kicking up ancient dust and debris. 

\--------------

Ferdinand coughs heavily as the dust starts settling, revealing the massive hole in front of him. He looks down and sees Dorothea safe in his arms as he had pulled her to him at the last second when the floor gave way. He looks to his left and sees Felix with a thoroughly frightened Annette in his arms, as well as Casper holding Petra by her arm as she slowly pulls herself back to safety. To his right, however, he sees the floor has also given way, and he can see none of his other classmates, the knights nor professor Byleth on their floor. 

Dorothea shivers fitfully in his arms, and he quietly strokes her hair as he says, “We’re ok. We’re going to be ok.”

Dorothea, however, replies, “But… but the others. What of… what of…,” but is unable to finish as she quietly sobs into Ferdinand's chest. 

Ferdinand looks back at the others on the floor with them and asks, “What do we do now?”

Petra, now no longer stuck dangling from Caspers arm, says, “We need to get to the others. I looked down, and the stairs were clear, and I saw some of our classmates down there, alive.”

Felix stills holds onto Annette tightly, and tells Ferdinand, “It’s our only option right now. We don’t know if that… that beast will come back up here, and it might be blocking our only exit. We have to get to the others if they’re alright.”

“I’ll take point then,” Caspers says as he lifts up Dedue’s shield, which had fallen from the man when he fell, “You guys just stick close to me.”

The sextuplet of students, once Dorothea and Annette had calmed down, descend the now unstable stairway. Once they reach the next floor, they find Hilda trying to console Marianne, who had curled up in the corner near the stairway and is unresponsive to anyone. Nearby, Linhardt is doing what he can to heal Dedue, whose arm had been broken, a thoroughly pained Leonie, who had her leg bent in an odd angle, and Gilbert, who was unconscious. 

Annette’s eyes widen when she sees him, yelling, “Dad!” as she runs over to him. Felix follows closely, and Annette shakes him gently awake.

Gilbert’s eyes flutter open weakly, and he looks at the orange haired girl as he whispers, “A-Annette…” bringing his hand up to hold hers. 

“Do be careful,” Linhardt warns, drawing their attention, “He’s had a serious concussion that I haven't been able to address yet. I would ask Marianne, but she’s…” He throws a look of surprisingly genuine concern at her and says, “Unavailable at the moment, and Mercedes is missing. I need to address these two,” he nods at Leonie and Dedue , “before I can address him.”

“Yes,” Gilbert says deliriously, “Help the kids. I’ll… I’ll be fine.”

Meanwhile, Ferdinand and Casper approach the debris that blocked their way forward as Dorothea and Petra try to help Hilda with Marianne. 

“Damn it,” Ferdinand curses, “How are we supposed to get through?”

“Hey guys,” Claude says cheekily from the other side, startling the two nobles. 

“Goddess, Claude,” Casper sighs, “Give us warning next time.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” Claude replies, confusing the two as he says, “Stand back and keep the others safe.” Ferdinand and Casper do as they’re told, and step away to protect their classmates. Suddenly, a vicious explosion clears the debris away, revealing Claude with his bow extended in front of him, and several other students behind him. 

Hubert had multiple scratch wounds up and down his right arm and back while he held a mercifully uninjured Bernadetta in his left, who seemed thoroughly terrified of what had just happened. Next to him is Alois, who had a cut above his forehead which bled profusely, a makeshift bandage barely containing the blood. On Claude’s other side stood Byleth, uninjured but missing the Sword of the Creator; and worse still, she carries an unconscious Lysithea in her arms while Cyril stood next to her, his right eye swollen shut. Next to him is Raphael, who has Ignatz over one shoulder and Lorenz holding his other arm for support. And, lastly, beside Raphael stood Dimitri, who is also uninjured. Unfortunately, behind them all stood another barricade made of fallen debris, and…

“Where’s Ashe, Mercedes, Jeritza, Ingrid and Sylvain?” Casper immediately asks once he takes stock of the other survivors. 

“I think they’re on the other side,” Byleth says worriedly as she deposits Lysithea next to Dedue, “I also suspect the bandits and… that beast are there too.”

“Oh shit,” Ferdinand curses under his breath before saying, “We need to get to them!”

“I would make another hole with my bow,” Claude says, “But the ceiling is unstable right now. If we blow it out, we could just bring the whole tower on our heads. We need to dig through slowly and carefully to get to them now.”

“And you’d best hurry,” Linhardt says once he allows Dedue to stand and join the uninjured, “I don’t think I can heal everyone, and Mercedes is the best among us. Please get them here quickly.” 

Claude nods at Linhardt in confirmation before he looks at Dimitri, tiling his head at the debris and walking over to it to start excavating their way out.

\--------------

Ashe coughs roughly as he comes to his senses, and finds himself in one of the offshoot rooms from the floor below. In his arms, he held onto Mercedes, who, although unconscious, seemed to only have a light scratch on her cheek from debris. However, what Ashe found confusing, to him at least, was that both he and Mercedes were in professor Jeritza’s arms, and they both lay on top of him. The man in question was also unconscious, and he had also lost the mask he always wore.

Even though their situation was dire and they needed to get out of the now precarious tower, Ashe started looking closely at Jeritza’s now exposed face, and couldn’t help but notice just how similar he looks to Mercedes. Jeritza started stirring as Ashe got a little too close, so the young boy got off him, only for his ankle to suddenly flare up in pain, causing him to yelp. 

This causes Mercedes to awaken and Jeritza to open his eyes quietly, though the girl's attention is fully on Ashe as he cradles his apparently sprained ankle. She quickly clambers off of Jeritza and starts administering first aid to Ashe, and the young boy sighs in relief as her magic heals his injury.

“Are you two alright?” Jeritza asks as he sits, his tone alarmingly filled with concern, unusual for someone as stoic as him.

“I will be in a minute,” Ashe confirms with a strained voice.

“I should be,” Mercedes answers, not taking her eyes off Ashe’s ankle.

Jeritza sighs with relief as he rubs his face, only to realize his mask is missing, He scans the room, hoping to spot it, only to find a large fragment of the now broken mask sitting by the half blocked doorway. Jeritza sighs with frustration, and turns to face the two students to say with a monotone voice, “Our way is blocked, it might take us a… few… min…,” but stops when his eyes lock with Mercedes.

She looks deeply into his eyes, a sudden sense of realization once she sees his face for the first time in many years. Her eyes widen with shock, her voice lost as her breath starts hitching. 

Ashe, however, is immensely lost, looking between the two as he slowly puts the pieces in his head together. 

Mercedes, after staring at the large man of several minutes finally whispers, “E-Emile? Is it… really you?” 

Jeritza, or more appropriately, Emile, looks into Mercedes eyes, his stoic mask failing as he closes his eyes and nods his head quietly. Mercedes rushes over to the man and nearly knocks him over as she embraces him, sobbing quietly into his shoulder. Again, Ashe is completely lost at this sudden turn of events, but doesn’t say anything to ruin this obviously long awaited reunion. 

However, before Mercedes can start asking questions, another ear piercing roar fills the tower, and Emile says, “We need to find the others and take care of that beast. I’ll explain later, Mercedes.” 

Ashe, his ankle now healed, stands and walks over to the half blocked door, and successfully shoves the debris away, revealing the extent of the devastation. The upper floor has almost completely collapsed, only a small ledge by the stairs is left. On this floor, wood, stone, and, disturbingly, the scattered remains of the bandits they would’ve faced litter the ground. Ashe doesn’t exit, though, as he stands quietly in the doorway watching the massive beast. Emile and Mercedes step forward, and also look at the beast as it scans the room, looking for something.

“It must be looking for Sylvain,” Ashe theorizes with a whisper.

“Then stay quiet,” Emile orders, “We don’t need to draw its attention.”   
  


The trio silently step out of the room and stealthily creep over to the stairs behind the beast, not once drawing its gaze. Once they reach the stairs, they descend to the next floor, only to be startled by a sudden arrow striking the wall behind them. They dart behind a corner, only to recognize a voice as it calls to them.

“Step out with your hands up!” The woman calls to them, “Or we will come for you!”

“Shamir!” Ashe suddenly calls from behind the wall, “It’s me, Ashe!”

The trio peak around the corner and see Shamir as she lowers her bow, with Catherine behind her and Anna and John further away. 

“Hah… shit, you should’ve announced yourselves before coming down,” Shamir says, “I almost got one of you.”

“We didn’t know you were here, and we would’ve also drawn unwanted attention to us,” Ashe states as he, Mercedes, and Emile step out.

Catherine immediately notices the large man’s change in appearance, and asks, “Say Jeritza, where’s your mask?”

Mercedes opens her mouth to say something only for Emile to say, “I lost it when the top floor collapsed. I only found fragments when I looked for it.”

“Well, guess it’s a damn shame then,” John says as he approaches the group with Anna, “At least you three are alive.”

Mercedes, after sharing a brief look with her… younger brother (to say ‘little’ wouldn’t be appropriate), she asks, “Why are you all here, though?”

“I think John described it as, ‘Emergency backup within arms reach,’ or something like that,” Anna answers as she tosses him a look, to which John just shrugs in response. 

“Then that’s a good thing,” Emile (Jeritza), states, “We will need all the help we can get. I fear the remaining students are trapped on the floor above, and the beast that spawned from the Lance of Ruin needs to be dealt with before we can get to them.”

Catherine tilts her head and narrows her eyes while asking, “What beast?” As if answering her, a deafening roar erupts from above, causing everyone to drop to the floor and cover their ears in pain. 

Once the roar stops, they rise from the floor as Ashe says, “That one.”

\--------------

Sylvain groans painfully as he wakes, and sits himself up to find himself in a small room, with one wall missing and the door caved in with debris. He looks around the small room and finds Ingrid next to him, who is also waking up.

  
“I-Ingrid,” he says painfully, “Are you… alright?”

Ingrid shakes her head as she sits up, and cradles her right arm as she says, “No- *ah*, I think my arm’s broken.” 

Sylvain looks around the room once more and finds a few scraps of cloth and an arm length piece of wood. He grabs these items and returns to Ingrid, helping her splint her injured arm. 

“You know, Sylvain,” Ingrid begins as she holds the wooden splint in place, grimacing in pain as Sylvain ties the cloth, “I hate to say this- agh… but we need to get out of here before the tower collapses.”

“Not without the others we’re not,” Sylvain retorts once he finishes with her splint.

“Never said anything about leaving them behind,” Ingrid replies as Sylvain helps her to her feet. “But we don’t have much time, either.”

“What are we supposed to do, then?” Sylvain asks, “That… that…  _ thing  _ can kill us with a single swipe. For all I know, it could be after me. What the Hell am I supposed to-”

Ingrid watches as Sylvain’s composure deteriorates more and more, shaking her head as she pulls him into a one armed embrace, silencing him. She whispers, “You don’t have to fight him alone. You don’t need to act like a hero today.” She pulls back to look Sylvain in his eyes as she says, “Let me help you.” 

Sylvain’s look of shock gives way to a look of determination, and silently nods at his childhood friend. They separate and walk over to the collapsed wall, and peak around the corner to find the beast scanning the room. They also spot Ashe, Mercedes, and Jeritza descending the stairs behind it, and Ingrid thanks their lucky stars that they are able to reach safety unnoticed.

“Damn it,” Sylvain curses, “He must be looking for me.”

“We need our weapons then,” Ingrid says as she starts looking around the room, “Do you see them?”

“I don’t...wait,” Sylvain spots several weapons piled together on the other side of the floor, among them an undamaged and glowing Sword of the Creator, as well as a few lances, three swords, and a broken axe. “There, we have options as well.”

“But it’s across the floor,” Ingrid points out, “We’ll need to make a run for it if we hope to stand a chance.”

Sylvain looks back at Ingrid, surprised by her admittedly dangerous plan, but she just nods back at him, a small smile on her face. Sylvain looks back at the pile, shaking his head with disbelief before declaring, “NOW!” And the both take off for the weapon pile.

The beast spots them both immediately, and unleashes an unholy screech at the pair. They cringe as the sound pummels their ears, but they reach the weapons with little issue otherwise, Ingrid grabbing a sword with her good hand while Sylvain grabs a lance with a silver lined blade. The beady, red eyes of the beast glare down on them, pouring immense hatred and malice into their souls, though the two remain stoic as they enter a more battle ready stance. Sylvain grits his teeth as he sinks lower to the ground, and quietly he says, “You’ve done terrible, unforgivable things Miklan, but you are still my brother. I pray you find the peace you couldn’t find here once this day is over.”

Suddenly, the Sword of the Creator glows brightly, sensing Sylvain’s intense emotional energy, and music starts playing from within the empty crest socket of the blade. 

\--------------

Byleth’s eyes widen when she hears the music begin, and, alarmingly, everyone hears it to. 

“Um… what’s going on?” Casper asks as he looks around to find the source of the music.

“Yeah…” Petra says quietly, “It’s like… music is playing.”

As the students look around their enclosure, the first lyric simply says,  **“Remember when…”,** and this tells Byleth exactly what’s going on. 

“Claude, Dimitri,” she calls to the two men in question, “How soon until you can break through?”

“Almost there,” Dimitri says as he rips a few floor boards away, allowing him to look through briefly, “Oh no…”    
  


Byleth rushes up to the opening and throws her weight against it. This shoves the remaining blockage away, allowing the uninjured students to emerge to find Ingrd and Sylvain staring down the massive beast before them, but they don’t even react to their classmates' arrival. Instead, a faint green aura surrounds them both, and the same aura emits from the Sword of the Creator. Byleth cautiously picks up the sword, and feels the same aura engulf her, though whatever Ingrid and Sylvain are affected by doesn’t seem to affect her. 

“Is… the Sword doing that?” Dorothea asks, tilting her head as the song goes quiet for a brief moment.

Suddenly, the chorus of the song starts, and Ingrid and Sylvain rush over to the beast, intent on fighting it. The warnings of their classmates fall on deaf ears as Byleth remains silent, knowing full well that there was no turning back from this.

\--------------

The seven people from the floor below peak over the edge of the stairs, their eyes wide as they watch the beast glare down upon Ingrid and Sylvain. 

“Shit,” John says quietly, “We need to do something.”

“I need to get to Ingrid,” Mercedes says, “It looks like her arm has been injured.”

“How?” Anna whispers at her, “That thing is going to kill us if we get too close. Besides, I think she and Sylvain are about to fight it.”

“But she shouldn’t,” Mercedes counters, her voice panicked, “If she fights that thing, she’ll die!”

“Then we just need to get to-” as Catherine speaks, she is interrupted by the sudden onset of music, the instruments foreign to her ears, “What in the Hell?”

**“Remember when…”**

“‘Remember when’?” Shamir asks no one in particular, “What’s happening?”

“Look,” Ashe says as he nods towards Ingrid and Sylvain, “They have some kind of aura around them. And I think I can see the Sword of the Creator behind them with a similar one.” 

Jeritza nods and says, “The Sword must be causing this then.”

“That still doesn’t help us, though,” Catherine says, “We need to get to them before they get killed.”

“Look, behind them!” Anna calls out. The seven people look and see Byleth emerge from the wall behind Ingrid and Sylvain, and see several other students emerge, seemingly unscathed.

“Thank the Goddess,” Mercedes says with a sigh of relief, “They’re alive.” 

“Still doesn’t change what’s going on in front of us,” Catherine says, “I have an idea, but we need to give Sylvain and Ingrid space.”

“You’re going to let them fight?” Ashe asks worriedly.

“We don’t have a choice,” Catherine confirms, “Jeritza, take Mercedes and Ashe around and get the other students out of here if you can. John, Anna, Shamir and I will do what we can to distract this thing so Ingrid and Sylvain have a chance to damage it.”

“I’ll cover you three,” Shamir suddenly says as she jumps over the stair’s ledge, taking aim at the beast, “Just go!”

**“If I only knew…”**

As the chorus of the song begins, Shamir keeps pace with Mercedes, Jeritza and Ashe as they skirt around the edge of the battlefield, while Catherine, Anna, and John rush forward to meet the beast. Distracted by the pair in front of it, the beast fails to notice as Catherine jumps onto its back and drives her sword into it, causing it to unleash yet another unholy screech as Ingrid and Sylvain swipe at it’s legs in tandem. 

However, this doesn’t leave lasting harm on the beast as it quickly shakes off Catherine while stomping its feet around itself, trying to catch the two students under itself. Catherine skids to a halt near where the remaining students are congregated, Shamir taking her place next to her partner.

“Is Mercedes tending to the wounded?” Catherine asks, her eyes focusing on Anna as she rolls out of the way from the beast’s tail.

“She is,” Shamir replies while notching an arrow, “Jeritza and Ashe are staying by her for now.”

Catherine nods quietly, pouring her power into Thunderbrand while saying, “Remind me to talk to the boy when we’re done here.” Then, like a flash of lightning, she darts across the room, her sword’s power reverberating throughout the tower as she swings it up, sending a lethal wave of holy power crashing into the side of the beast. It howls with pain as it tears through its ethereal flesh, but it turns its head to face Catherine, and pounces at her, seemingly unaffected by the raw power that tore through it. 

However, Catherine doges out of the way as John leaps onto its head, and drives his sword into the beast skull. Again, the beast howls with pain, but only tries to swipe at John while dodging its other pursuers. 

“John!” Anna calls, to which John leaps off the beast head and rolls to a stop next to her. Anna sighs and says, “You’re crazy!”

“Crazy, yes,” John nods in agreement as he picks himself up, “But I think the only way we can bring that thing down is if we go for its eyes.” 

“But you’ve seen what happens when we damage it,” Anna counters while they both dodge yet another tail swipe, landing next to Shamir and a seemingly exhausted Catherine, “It just reforms around itself.”

“Yeah, but look at Sylvain and Ingrid,” John states, bringing the attention of all three women to the students. 

**“When it was 2002…”**

Sylvain and Ingrid are moving slowly, likely recovering from their explosive initial strike. They are still surrounded by the green aura, and their breathing seems to be in time with the music they all hear coming from the Sword of the Creator. They also notice that their weapons are also bathed in a similar aura, and the wounds the two left on the beasts legs are also coated with this aura as well. 

“I see,” Anna says as she realizes what’s going on, “We need to tell them to go for the eyes.”

“*Huff*... You might have to do it,” Catherine says as she drops to her knee, “I went…*Cough*... too far with that strike.” 

“I’ll stay with Catherine,” Shamir says, her eyes focused on the beast as she kneels next to the swordswoman, “You two stay safe out there.”

“I’ll go as well,” Byleth suddenly says from behind them, “I’ll distract this damn thing while you two get to Sylvain and Ingrid.”

“Thanks professor,” Anna replies as the three of them get ready to run. 

**“...I wanted to be just like you.”**

As the next chorus rings out, Byleth unleashes the Sword of the Creator, its whip like appendage lashing out at the massive beast, catching its attention. Anna and John, now free of the beast's attention, sprint over to Ingrid and Sylvain, joining them as the rush under the beast. 

“HEY!” John calls out, briefly drawing the two students attention, “The eyes! Go for the eyes!”

Ingrid and Sylvain quickly catch on, changing their strategy simultaneously as they diverge from the beast in opposite directions, John following Sylvain, Anna following Ingrid. As if in sync with each other, they slide to a stop on opposite sides of the beast, both looking directly at its eyes while Byleth has the sword whipped around its neck, holding it in place with an impossible feat of strength. 

However, the moment is lost almost as soon as it occurred as the beast pulls its head and sends Byleth over its back, unhinging her Sword and leaving her crumbled behind it. She tries to pick herself up, but her strength fails her as the sword has drawn too much from her. 

“Byleth!” Anna calls, staring at the professor while the beast attempts to crush her. Suddenly, an arrow zips by and buries itself in the beast neck, and the beast unleashes a howl of pain as it turns to face Shamir, who had sent the arrow.

**“And now I’m tired of the violence…”**

Sensing the opportunity, Ingrid and Sylvain rush at the beast. Making her decision, Anna follows Ingrid as John does the same with Sylvain, and they sprint faster to get in front of their respective wards. Anna slides to a stop and lifts her arm above her head, giving Ingrid a foot hold as she steps onto the offered arm and jumps high enough to drive her sword into the beast eye. 

Sylvain comes within an inch of driving his lance into the beast as well, but misses as it flinches from Ingrid’s sword. Sylvain harmlessly crashes into its head and rolls away, a fresh bruise already forming on his chest. Ingrid is less fortunate, as she is flung away from the beast and lands in a heap near the stairs, her aura dissipating as she lay there unmoving. Sylvain grits his teeth, his glare bearing down into the beast one good eye. 

“I never wanted this,” Sylvain yells at the beast, “I never wanted to fight you like this!” The beast roars in response, bringing everyone but Sylvain to their knees as he continues, “You are my brother! Every day you were always there, no matter what you did! Some days, you were unbearably stubborn, others you were halfway decent. What you’ve done doesn’t change that!” The beast seemingly ignores Sylvain as it sprints at him. He closes his eyes briefly, a single tear dropping as he whispers, “I don’t care if the Goddess can forgive you, because I do,” and his eyes snap open, the aura around him growing steadily in power as the corrupted relic within the beast reacts to Sylvain’s crest, bringing the beast to halt as Sylvain rushes forward. 

Sylvain jumps and grabs onto the sword that sticks out from its eye, and he swings himself over the beast's head. As the final lyrics of the song play, he drives his lance into the beast eye, causing it to scream bloody murder as black mist sprays from its numerous wounds that Syvlain and Ingrid had inflitced. 

Sylvain jumps away, and lands near where Byleth is slowly recovering. Byleth looks up in disbelief as she watches the beast’s form degrade, piece by piece until the unbreathing body of Miklan and the Lance of Ruin are all that’s left. 

Sylvain feels the borrowed power from the Sword of the Creator dissipate, and he cautiously walks over to his brother’s deceased form. He steps over the Lance of Ruin and falls to his knees next to Miklan, his lips trembling as tears fall from his eyes. Sylvain touches Miklan’s hand, the skin cold against his, as if he had been dead for hours. ‘He was dead from the start…’ Sylvain concludes as he starts shaking. 

He jumps as he feels someone’s arm wrap around him, and he turns to find a battered Ingrid next to him, her forehead bruised and face scratched up while a thin trail of blood drips from her split lip. Sylvain reciprocates, embracing her tightly as he breaks down completely, his cries echoing through the tower as thunder starts rumbling outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, the fight is over. I do hope you all enjoyed probably the most depressing arc thus far, and I hope you all are ready for the next one as it begins at the end of the next chapter. Hope to see you all next week.


	21. When The Seasons Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I won't let you down  
> When the seasons change  
> I won't go down  
> I'll fight through the pain  
> I'll be there right by your side  
> I'll never let them bring you down  
> When the seasons change”- Five Finger Death Punch

Byleth stands by the door of the tower, watching as the rain comes down outside while polishing her surprisingly undamaged glasses. She heaves a heavy sigh and replaces them while she looks down at her sword, and silently calls out to Sothis in her head, but gets no response. She shakes her head as her gaze returns to the grounds outside, a lighting strike flashing in the distance.

“Hey, Byleth?” She turns to face Alois, the wound on his head somewhat healed and no longer bleeding. 

“Yeah?” She simply replies, still tired from over exerting herself. 

“I’ve… taken the time to investigate the tower, and…,” he looks away briefly before facing Byleth again, “We’re going to have to brave the storm. With the top floor destroyed, the wind is just going to knock this thing over like a pile of wheat.” 

Byleth curses under her breath and says, “Get Dimitri, Claude, and Hubert for me. Given how injured some of the students are, we will need to carry a few back to Margrave Gautier’s estate.”

“Before I do, I need to ask something,” Alois says, “Just… what happened up there? No one, not even Sylvain wants to touch that Lance, Marianne isn’t responding to anyone, and Catherine is even having doubts about Thunderbrand. On top of that, that music that came from the Sword of the Creator… just what was that?”

Byleth replies, “Given how unstable the tower is, it would be best to discuss this once we’ve arrived safely at the estate. I doubt I can safely explain what happened with the Sword, and I couldn’t even guess what happened with the Lance of Ruin.”

Alois nods quietly and says, “I understand. I’d imagine your father would want a lengthy explanation about what happened here just as he did about the incident in the Holy Mausoleum.” He chuckles briefly before saying, “I’ll get your students,” and he hastily runs to where the students have congregated on the first floor.

Byleth turns back to face the rain, thunder rumbling as the winds pick up. ‘Sothis… I know I asked you to stay with Edelgard, but please respond.’ 

\--------------

Jeralt looks out of a window nervously, the storm raging violently as dirt and debris is kicked up and sent flying in all directions. While his knights were doing what they could in the town to mitigate damage caused by this storm, Jeralt is currently stuck in the Margrave’s estate, though the Margrave himself had been more than welcoming of the Captain to stay for as long as he needed. 

“You need to relax, Captain,” Margrave Sylvester Gautier says as he brings a tray of tea for them both to share, “I have faith that your daughter and the students will make it back safely.”

Jeralt sighs reluctantly as he steps away from the window and sits across from Sylvester, accepting the tea as he replies, “While I certainly can’t argue against their skills and experience, I just can’t shake the feeling that something went wrong.”

“I understand,” Sylvester says, “That tower has been there for generations, and the lack of upkeep is bound to leave it in a sorry state. I would not be surprised if they decided to brave this storm rather than stay in the tower. Goddess knows why it survived so many in the past.”

“Do the storms here get this bad regularly?” Jeralt asks. 

“During the warmer months, no,” Sylvester answers after he sips his tea, “This does tell us that the season is shifting, however. Most of the small farms have already begun their harvest while others still have a month or so left for their yield to grow.”

Jeralt nods and says, “I see. I’m no farmer, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Neither am I,” Sylvester replies with a sly smile, “I just spend so much time in town these days that I’ve picked up on a thing or two.”

Suddenly, a servant opens the door and announces, “Margrave, Captain, the students have returned, but they aren’t in good shape. The Professor has asked for you as well, Captain.”

Jeralt and Sylvester leave the corner room they are in and run to the entrance hall, and are greeted by the sight of the soaked and injured students, several sneezing and coughing fitfully while others shiver from the cold. 

“Captain! Margrave!” Alois calls out while holding a still unconscious Lysithea in his arms, “Lysithea hasn’t woken in some time. You wouldn’t happen to have a spare room where she can be monitored?”

“Oh, absolutely. We’ve got plenty of rooms for you all,” Sylvester says as he waves over a servant. As said servant leads Alois and an incredibly nervous Cyril away, Jeralt approaches his daughter. 

“Byleth,” Jeralt says quietly once he and his daughter embrace, “What the Hell happened?”

“I… I’ll explain later,” Byleth replies as she scans the crowd, “I just want my students taken care of first before we do anything else.”

\--------------

_ One hour later… _

Jeralt, Margrave Sylvester Gautier, Byleth, Catherine, Shamir, Anna, John, Claude, Dimitri, and a bandaged Hubert sit around a large table with the Lance of Ruin sitting in the center, most still reeling from the battle earlier in the day. 

Jeralt sat with his hands folded beneath his chin, taking his time to understand what had just been explained to him. “What of the bodies of the dead?”

“We had to leave them,” Shamir answers, “That storm will likely bring that tower down, so retrieval won’t be possible.”

Sylvester hasn’t said a word since the start of this meeting, only whispering to himself, “I need to say something to him…”

Jeralt is oblivious to the Margrave’s ramblings, saying with a heavy sigh, “We need to report this to the Church as soon as possible. While I understand the students need to recover after this, we are going to leave tomorrow morning. That… and I feel we need to head back because something has happened.”

“What do you mean?” Hubert asks.

“What I mean is that something has happened there while we are here,” the Captain answers, “While normally I’ve learned to ignore my gut sometimes, every bone in my body says we need to leave as soon as possible. If you and your classmates weren’t as beat up as you are and that storm wasn’t happening, we would’ve left as soon as you got back from the tower.”

Hubert just nods in acknowledgment as Dimitri says, “If that’s the case, we should finish this meeting and get as much rest as possible before we leave.”

“First though,” Byleth says, “I need to ask. Why did you send Catherine and the others to follow us? Wouldn’t it have been easier just to send them  _ with  _ us?”

“It’s an old saying I picked up while gambling in the taverns,” Jeralt replies with a sad smile, “Never show all of your cards.”

Byelth knows immediately that her father is dodging the question while also answering it, and throws a semi-spitefully glare at him before Anna says, “At least it’s over.”

“For now,” Shamir answers as she stands from the table, “Unless anything important needs to be added, we need to rest up for tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Jeralt says as he stands as well, “Get some sleep, you all need it.”

\--------------

Catherine looks out the window of the bedroom she and Shamir had been given, Thunderbrand sitting on the table across the room. She’d glance at it briefly from time to time, hesitant to touch it as the memories of the black beast are still fresh on her mind. 

Shamir is laying in the bed, reading a book about crests and the Holy Relics, trying to find an answer to what had happened in the tower. She sighs in frustration as each page lacks the info she seeks. She then spots Catherine walking to the door and asks, “Where are you going?”

“A walk,” Catherine replies quietly, “And… there’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a few months now.”

Shamir quietly nods as she leans back into the bed, saying, “Don’t keep him waiting then.”

\--------------

Jeritza (Emile) sits in his room in silence, waiting for his sister to arrive. He hears a quiet knock on his door, and answers quietly and flatly, “Enter.”

The door opens, and he turns to find Mercedes and Ashe entering the room. Jeritza can tell that his sister is restraining herself from tackling him to the ground while Ashe shifts his weight nervously, not entirely sure if he belonged there or not. 

“Um, Ashe,” Mercedes says quietly to the young boy, “I… I want to be alone with my brother for a little bit.”

Ashe nods, briefly looking at the larger man before leaving the room and closing the door behind him, allowing Mercedes and Jeritza a chance to be alone. 

Mercedes takes in her younger brother’s appearance, noting that his robes weren’t anywhere near as pristine as it was before the battle. Granted, she wasn’t exactly the definition of pristine beauty either given how torn and tattered her own uniform is, but she felt her heart break a bit at her brother’s appearance. 

Mercedes takes a seat across from him, and asks, “How long? How long has it been since we’ve last talked to each other, Emile?”

Emile sits silently for a minute and then answers, “Twelve years. It has been twelve years since we last spoke; since mother took you away… how is she?”

“She’s fine, actually,” Mercedes replies with a nod, “While age certainly hasn’t been kind to her, she still has the heart of gold that you remember. She’s just as kind and charitable as she was when we left.” 

“Good,” Emile sighs with relief and then asks, “Did she remarry at all?”

“Yes, she married a rather influential and successful merchant in the Kingdom, hence why I’m part of the Blue Lions class.”

“And does he treat you and mother well?”

“Well, while he does expect me to marry a rich and powerful noble someday, he has done nothing that father would’ve done, and he has been incredibly supportive and encouraging of me and my choices in life.”

“Good,” Emile closes his eyes and says, “So long as he respects you and mother, he and I won’t have any issue.” He opens his eyes, but doesn’t look at his sister as he says, “I can only assume you want to know the fate of our father.”

Mercedes’ expression becomes forlorn as she answers, “If you’re in the academy, hiding your identity behind a mask, then…,” Mercedes doesn’t finish her sentence, and whispers, “You killed him, didn’t you?”

Somehow, her faint whisper runs through his heart like the cold steel of a sword. Emile’s mental walls start to crack, and a single tear runs down his cheek as he answers quietly, “Yes.”

Mercedes takes an unsteady breath, as if forcing herself to remain seated, and asks, “What happened? Why did… you kill him?”

Emile closes his eyes as he retells his story, “The day you and mother left, he was enraged. He’d lash out at anyone and everyone that got in his way. Had I not hidden myself when he completely lost himself, I have no doubt that he would’ve killed me. As for me, I honestly felt betrayed. I wanted to go with you, to run away from that monster, but mother said I had to stay. If I had went with you, you and mother would’ve been in even greater danger.” Emile looks away briefly, lost in thought. 

“Emile,” Mercedes says firmly, drawing back his attention, “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Emile nods as he continues, “I’m sorry. It’s been awhile since I’ve had to recount that day.” He takes a breath before he continues, “When I turned sixteen, father had calmed himself, but he was still a mad man even then. Many of the people who once served us had fled to the Alliance or the Kingdom, and he’d often ramble on about this insurrection that had occurred in the Empire, about how the throne would be filled by Duke Ludwig von Aegir’s son. I largely considered it blasphemy at the time, but I know better now. But…” Emile’s voice fails briefly as he shies away from Mercedes’ increasingly intense gaze, and continues, “One day, I was listening in on father as he discussed politics with another noble, and… he mentioned his desire for another child with a crest. The one noble suggested adoption, but father was adamant at having one birthed from his line… and…” Emile goes silent, his hands gripping the arms of the chair as the memory replays in his mind.

“Emile?” Mercedes asks, getting no response, “Emile!” 

Emile’s eyes snap to hers, and his voice is low and soft as he explains, “He wanted a wife who already had a crest, one who could likely birth a child with a crest if impregnated. He knew mother couldn’t have children anymore…” Emile’s eyes fall to the floor, his voice a whisper, “He wanted… you.”

Mercedes’ eyes widen with disbelief, her mind coming to a sudden stop as she asks, “What?”

“He wanted you…” Emile shakes his head, his mind locked on the memory as it consumes him while his voice speaks, “He desired to have your child, and… everything just… draws a blank. I only remember walking up… to blood. Blood just… everywhere.” Tears start flowing freely from his eyes, and Mercedes rises from her chair slowly as Emile continues, “His body was on the floor in front of his desk, a… a lance driven through his heart. Every servant in that house had fled as… as the bodies of our cousins, our aunts and uncles littered the grounds. I killed them… I ki- *hic*...” Emile, for the first time since that fated day, cries for what he had done. He drops from his chair to the floor as he curls himself into a ball, trying to fade away into nothing. ‘Just go… I’m the monster that you fear… just go…’

Instead, Mercedes kneels down next to her brother, and lays herself over his shoulder to embrace him, her own tears flowing freely as she whispers in his ear, “I’m sorry. We should’ve never left you. Please… don’t cry…” and she, too, cries into his shoulder.

\--------------

_ A few moments earlier… _

Ashe shuts the door behind him, somewhat disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to speak with Jeritza about his past, but also understanding that he and Mercedes, as she had explained, haven’t seen each other in years and she desperately needed to know what had happened to him since she and their mother left him. Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, he steps down the hall to the room he was staying in when he hears his name being called from behind him. 

“Ashe,” the voice calls, “Do you have a minute?”

Ashe turns around to find Catherine walking towards him. He stops walking as he says, “I should. Do you need something, Ma’am?”

“I… I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you for a while now, and…,” Catherine, in a paradox of her personality, loses all trace of her usually unwavering confidence as she searches for the right thing to say, to no real avail.

Ashe, picking up on her distress, asks, “It… wouldn’t happen to have to do with… what happened in Gaspard, would it?”

Catherine sighs reluctantly and nods her confirmation, saying, “Before I became a knight, I was initially accused of orchestrating the Tragedy of Duscur by several corrupt nobles trying to secure my hand and family line for their own. Rather than face them, I fled my territory and gave up my noble title, enlisting with the knights of Seiros in an effort to locate the true masterminds behind the Tragedy.” 

Ashe tilts his head and asks, “Then how did my step-father get involved then? Was he one of the nobles that sought your hand through unethical means?”

“No, Lord Lonato was, by all accords and my own personal experience, the true embodiment of who a noble should be. So when the Knights received the report that his son Christophe was involved with the Tragedy, I was torn.” 

“Wait,” Ashe takes a step back, shaking his head while saying, “Christophe  _ couldn’t  _ have been involved. I thought it was all Duscur.”

“When people become desperate, they will often resort to scapegoats to express their anger. The Tragedy isn’t just about the fall of the King, but also the near genocide of an entire people, a people who I firmly believe to be innocent after what the Church discovered once the dust settled.”

Ashe quietly asks, “Then what did Christophe do, then?”

Catherine takes a deep breath and says, “The letters we intercepted being sent to and from him indicated that he was indeed aware of the Tragedy’s orchestrators and voluntarily offered his support to them, sending them details about the border’s hidden trails which he frequented and the exact location of several Duscur towns and recent settlements. I was the first to volunteer for his arrest, if only to clear my name.”

Ashe couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Christophe, a model knight if he had ever seen one, the older brother he never had that he could look up to for guidance, was indeed a traitor. Although he knew the knights were responsible for Christophe’s capture and subsequent execution, he never believed that the one who arrested him would be standing before him. 

“What I did… was selfish,” She suddenly says, drawing his attention back to her, “Although Christophe’s capture was inevitable, I volunteered only so I could prove my innocence and clear my name of the same accusation leveled against him. Right now… I don’t know if I did the right thing.” She closes her eyes, fully expecting Ashe to lash out in fury for her confession, but instead, gets something unexpected. 

“You know,” Ashe beings, “Felix was the same way.” Catherine looks at Ashe incredulously as he continues, “Before the battle in Gaspard, he had lashed out at nearly everyone because he assumed me and my siblings to be traitors; though, looking back, I think something Hanneman had said triggered something within him. Once the battle was done and over with, he apologized for what he had done. Even when he lost sight of who he needed to be, he still had the heart to confront his mistakes and move forward in life. I cannot speak for Christophe’s actions or that of Lord Lonato, but I can only speak for my own actions, just as you should. Yes, what you did was selfish, even if it was the right thing, but now… the only thing you can do is accept your mistakes and move on. For that reason, I can forgive you.”

Catherine is stunned, half because Ashe had forgiven her, half at just how adult the young boy sounded right now. ‘He’s right though,’ she thinks to herself, ‘Only I can speak for my actions and only I can move on from the mistakes.’ A small smile appears on her face as she quietly replies, “Thank you.”

\--------------

Sylvain sat quietly in his old room, sitting on the ledge of his window as he watched the rain drops slowly slide down. He can hear footsteps as his classmates and servants move up and down the hall, preparing to sleep for the night. He then hears his door open, and he watches its reflection as his father steps inside, the Lance of Ruin sitting in his right hand. 

“Hello son,” Sylvester says quietly, “You… uh… don’t want to say hello to your father?” 

Sylvain lets out a faint grunt in response, not even turning to face the older man. Sylvester just sighs in defeat, and Sylvain watches his reflection as he rests the Lance against his bed. “I… understand if you don’t want to talk, but… I do want you to at least listen to me.

Sylvain just nods his head silently, letting his father know that he is, indeed, listening to him. “Miklan, he… I… I never hated your brother,” Sylvester begins, “When I found out he didn’t have a crest, I was still more than willing to give him the Margravate when he came of age. But… when he learned that you had a crest and he didn’t, something changed in him.” Sylvester pulls a chair out and sits in it, facing his son as he continues, “He started talking to himself at night, saying how he should’ve had a crest and you shouldn’t. When you weren’t looking, he’d often terrorize the rest of the family while trying to do things to you. I know you’ve seen some of the things that he had done in the past, you’re not blind. One day, he crossed the line and attacked one of the other noble’s kids, thinking they had a crest when in reality they didn’t. That day, I knew he could never become Margrave.”

“How did he get the Lance then?” Sylvain asks quietly, finally turning to face his father.

“I couldn’t fight him,” Sylvester answers, shaking his head as he speaks, “When he and his… lackeys attacked the estate, I told my guards to let only Miklan in. I wanted to talk to him, maybe get him to understand things better, but he didn't want to talk, he just wanted the Lance. *Sigh*… The only thing I asked of him when I led him to the lance, is that he left peacefully and left the people alone. And, for a reason I will never know, he headed me, and left without so much as saying another word besides telling his lackeys to leave.” 

Sylvain looks at the ground, a few tears forming in his eyes as his father rises from the chair, stepping closer to his son. “Sylvain,” he says, drawing his attention, “I always loved Miklan. I never wanted him to end up like this, but that day, when he… I gave him the Lance of Ruin, I knew he couldn’t be saved. I never wanted you to fight him like that. I’m sor-,” Before he can finish, Sylvain reaches up and pulls his father into a tearful embrace, and Sylvester simply returns the gesture as his son sobs quietly for his fallen brother.

They stay like this for nearly half an hour before Sylvain calms himself, and says, “Why did you bring the lance?”

Sylvester sighs gently and says, “I feel it would be in better hands if you retained it for now.”

Sylvain pulls back to look his father in the eyes and asks, “Really? Why?”

“I’m old, son,” Sylvester explains, “I’m nowhere near the young man I once was. Just a few days before you arrived, one of the faith mages from town diagnosed me with arthritis and suspects my heart is growing weaker. I’ll still be kicking for some time yet, but I doubt I can wield this old lance the way I used to. Please, for the sake our people and all of Fodlan, keep it by your side, and use it wisely.”

Sylvain is initially apprehensive, his mind flashing back to his brother's unholy transformation into the black beast, but he nods at his father anyway, knowing that only he could inherit such a powerful and deadly weapon.

\--------------

Byleth and her father sat across from each other in a closed room, the former explaining more recent events that she had kept hidden from him, excluding the multiple timelines she faced. 

“That voice we heard in the tomb a month ago  _ is _ the Goddess herself,” Byleth explains, “And given just who and what we are up against, the fact that Edelgard was willing to head her at all is a miracle in its own right.”

Jeralt looks away briefly and mutters, “I knew going back to that Monastery was a bad idea,” before looking back at his daughter to ask, “Who else knows of this?”

“All the crest bearing students know about Sothis because we knew we wouldn’t be able to hide that at all. As far as I know, only Claude, Dimitri, maybe Lysithea and I know the truth about the princess.”

Jeralt nods and asks, “Is there any way I’d be able to speak with this ‘Sothis’?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Byleth rest her head in her arms as she leans on the table while she speaks, “When I last spoke with her, I had asked her to remain by Edelgard’s side while she recovered from her migraine, but I haven’t heard back from her since.”

Jeralt sits quietly, not saying a word as he thinks to himself. ‘Why has she kept all of this hidden from me for so long? I’m her father damn it, she should be able to trust me with this.’ Jeralt sighs as he says, “Normally I would be mad that you’ve kept all this a secret from me for so long, but knowing Rhea and… what I suspect about her, I just feel more hurt than anything.”

Byleth looks away sorrowfully as she says, “I sorry. I just wasn’t sure if you could keep this from her.”

“I understand,” Jeralt assured quietly, “Given what you just told me, if Rhea even suspects my involvement, she’d likely go mad and destroy the monastery. You need to get some sleep,” Jeralt stands from his chair and says, “It’s going to be a long march back to the monastery.”

\--------------

_ That night... _

Marianne stealthily ventured through the halls of the quiet and dark estate, seeking the attached stables. Even with the storm raging outside, loud enough that the distant echoes of rain and thunder reached her ears, she had her heart set. She couldn’t go back to the monastery, not with what had happened in that tower. Since her friends, if she can still call them that, saw that beast emerge from the lance, they would all start asking questions, and the more questions they ask, the more likely they’d learn the truth of her cursed crest. For that reason, she needed to find Dorte and leave as soon as possible. 

She arrives at the stables’ doors, and quietly enters to find most of the horses asleep for the night. She arrives at Dorte’s stable, and he immediately wakes when she nears, allowing her to rest her head against his. 

“We’re leaving,” she whispers. Dorte whinnies quietly in disagreement, but Marianne shakes her head and says, “I know the storm’s bad, but we can’t stay.” She enters his stable to grab his saddle and reins, but freezes when she hears her name called. 

“Mari?” The voice asks. Marianne knows exactly who the voice is, and turns to face Hilda as she stands by the stable doors in mild shock, “What are you doing?”

“Um… I… Uh…” Marianne is unable to find a believable excuse, and simply decides to tell the truth, “I’m leaving.”

“What?” Hilda asks in disbelief, securing the stable door and approaching Marianne, “You can’t leave, let alone in this weather!”

“I… I have no choice,” Marianne counters unconvincingly.   
  


“Yes you do,” Hilda responds, her voice filled with desperate worry, “Why do you even want to leave? Do you know how many people you would hurt in doing this?!”

Marianne had indeed considered this, but concluded that running away would be better than letting them learn the truth about her. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Understand what?”

Marianne turns away to grab a set of reins and says, “The truth…”

“What truth?” Hilda asks, stepping in front of Marianne to block her from the riding equipment, “Just tell why you would want to-”

“MY CREST IS CURSED!!!” Marianne screams in frustration, startling several horses in the other stables. Hilda remains silent, as if waiting for Marianne to continue, “I… I bear the Crest of the Beast, a crest said to curse those who bear it. It’s even connected to a monster said to live in one of the forests in Leicester. I… am more than convinced that my parents disappearance is a result of this.” Marianne turns away, refusing to look at Hilda, “You saw what happened in the tower. Why should I stay here if that happens around me?”

Marianne waits for Hilda to respond, fully expecting her to simply leave and allow her to run. Instead, Marianne feels a pair of arms wrap around her, and can feel Hilda’s voice as it reverberates through her back, “Don’t go…”   
  


Marianne cautiously turns to face Hilda once her grip loosens, and finds fresh tears had fallen from her face, “What? Even knowing what I have?”

“I’ve heard those rumors, yes,” Hilda begins, “And I have even seen the forest your crest is supposedly tied to, but that’s all it is, just a rumor. If there is a beast in that forest, then we can fight it together. Don’t go running off into this storm just because of some stupid rumor.”

“But… but…” Marianne shakes her head in disbelief, “But… everyone else… what if…”

“Don’t worry,” Hilda assures, “I can help you if they find out.”

“You… you can’t,” Marianne tries to pull away, but Hilda holds her in place as one of her hands reaches up to her face, “They’d… they wou- mmph!” Marianne’s eyes shoot open wide as her lips are greeted by Hilda’s. This new sensation brings Marianne’s mind to a halt, and she is unable to process what is happening.

Hilda holds her like this for only a few seconds, and pulls away. She allows Marianne to recover briefly, and the taller woman simply asks, quietly “Why?”

Hilda’s lips form a sad smile as she says, “Mari, when I came to the academy, all I wanted to do was lounge around and wait for the year to end, then I met you. You’d listen to my gossip, let me copy your work, but when we met Sothis for the first time a month ago, when you agreed I needed to put forth more effort, something changed in me. I wanted to go the extra mile and make something out of myself, and somehow, you became that drive.” Marianne feels tears rolling down her cheek, and her lips quiver as Hilda continues speaking, “Everyday since, when I woke up, I would always think of you. I tried to convince myself it was the Goddess’s disappointment that drove me, but I realized I felt more hurt when you told me. I wanted to get better because of you, Mari.”

“But… but my…”

“I couldn’t care less if you have a cursed crest,” Hilda retorts forcefully, “I love you, Marianne.” Hilda buried her head into her shoulder, her voice cracking as she asked through a choked sob, “Please…*hic*... don’t go.”

As if a dam had burst, Marianne fully embraces Hilda and drops to her knees, her cries echoing through the stables as the rain continues to pour just outside.

\--------------

_ Ingrid walks down a winding forest path, one she had never followed before. The flora that surrounded her were familiar, easily identifiable as being native to her home territory. As for the path itself, it seemed to wind further and further, with signs periodically marking a slowly declining number, likely the distance to her supposed destination, wherever it could be.  _

__ **_5_ **

**** _ Ingrid’s heart quickens, she knows she’s close based on the recent sign marker, a feeling of nervous excitement filling her. _

__ **_4_ **

**** _ ‘Where am I going?” She thinks to herself, ‘What could be waiting for me?’ _

__ **_3_ **

**** _ ‘What if it’s a surprise, oh, maybe a… no, this is only a dream.’ _

__ **_2_ **

**** _ ‘Whatever lies ahead of me, I need to face it. I may not like it, but if my dreams are like this tonight, then I must confront it.’ _

__ **_1_ **

**** _ Ingrid emerges into a clearing. The edge is bordered by a large, white fence, with rows upon rows of empty chairs facing the same direction, parting down the center. At the end of this center path is a vine encircled pedestal and an arbor decorated by flowers native not just to her home territory, but to house Fraldarius’ territory.  _

_ ‘Oh…’ Ingrid realized what this place is; the last time she had dreamt of her wedding to Glenn. Her original fascinations started playful and childish, lavishly decorated tea chairs with gaudy pinks and powder blues everywhere. As she grew older, her dreams became more simplified, minimalist and reserved in nature. Where she stood was the last dream she had of their once future wedding, right before she learned of his fate.  _

_ Ingrid walked down the wedding aisle, the empty chairs and lack of sound from the forest leaving her feeling lonely. She briefly looks at herself to realize she’s wearing her fantasy wedding dress; simple and minimalistic as it appeared white with very few frills and decoration. She stops at the end of the aisle, and turns to face the empty field. Her composure deteriorates, tears flooding her eyes as she drops to the ground, sobbing for the day that will never come.  _

_ Then, from a voice that hadn’t spoken in years, she hears, “Now, what could’ve caused this.” _

_ Ingrid gasps in disbelief, and hesitantly looks up to see a man with pitch black hair, cut short to Faerghus military standard, orangish-brown eyes filled with merriness, and a cockney grin she had grown to love many, many years ago.  _

_ “Glenn!” She exclaims, quickly jumping to her feet and nearly tackling him to the ground. She knew this was a dream, she knew he wasn’t real, but it felt real enough to her knowing that he was here for the first time since he had passed. Perhaps his spirit finally found its way back to her, perhaps she had finally cracked under the pressure of the last several days, but she didn’t care.  _

_ “Glenn…” Ingrid pulls away to look him in the eyes, and says, “You… you came back.” _

_ “If only to see you again,” he responds, his voice echoing slightly, “How have things been?” _

_ “Rough,” Ingrid concedes with a half hearted laugh, “This last battle has taken a toll on everyone.” _

_ “Maybe start at the beginning?” Glenn quickly asks, “I want to know how your years have been.” _

_ “OK,” Ingrid readily agrees, the scene mysteriously shifting from the wedding venue to a hilltop with a tea table. She and Glenn sit opposite each other as she starts explaining the events of her life, leaving no detail unknown to him. She explains the start of the year, meeting Byleth, what she did to Sylvain (to which Glenn exploded with laughter and said “That’s my girl!”), the incident in the Holy Mausoleum, meeting the Goddess herself, and the events that took place the day before.  _

_ Glenn is enraptured for the entire story, and simply replies, “Thank you. I needed to hear that.” _

_ “So… what about you?” Ingrid asks curiously, “How have things been for you?” _

_ Glenn’s smile doesn’t waver, but she can tell from his eyes that he doesn’t want to say anything as he shakes his head. “I can’t.” _

_ “Why not?” Ingrid asks. _

_ “Because you’re still alive.” _

_ Ingrid’s expression drops, now realizing that their time together right now is only temporary. Soon, she’d have to awaken, and he would have to return to… wherever he came from. _

_ Ingrid gulps as she says, “I miss you, you know?” _

_ “As do I,” Glenn replied sadly, though his grin still remains, “I miss you, Felix, Sylvain, Dimitri, all of them. How are they?” _

_ “Dimitri’s been better, though I think he’s recovering from a recent breakdown. Felix, though, has been doing a lot better ever since he and Annette started spending time together… you do know who Annette is, right?” _

_ “Of house Dominic?” Glenn asks, to which Ingrid nods quickly, “Good, he needs an optimist to help him see the good in the world sometimes. And what about Sylvain?” _

_ “Still chasing skirts, though, given recent events, he might need some time to recover before he’s back to doing it.”  _

_ Glenn just chuckles, and says, “You know, for someone who loves the guy, you haven’t really done much to win him over.” _

_ “Well- wait… ‘love him’?” Ingrid as a wave of indignation washes over her, “I do not love him!” _

_ Glenn, now laughing loudly, replies teasingly, “Yes you do, it’s the reason you take so much of your anger out on him when he’s chasing other women. You’re jealous.” _

_ “I...I’m not jealous…” Ingrid retorts half heartedly, not willing to admit the truth.  _

_ “I know you are,” Glenn replies as he stands from his chair and approaches her, “And I do know you love him.” _

_ “But… but what about you?” Ingrid asks as she rises from her chair to face him, “Won’t you…” _

_ “I only want the best for you,” Glenn replies as the changes to a cloud high above the ground, taking her hand, “Sylvain may have some habits that need to be addressed, yes, but I can see it in your eyes. You need him just as much as he needs you.”  _

_ Ingrid nods silently, whispering, “I know…” _

_ “Ingrid.” She looks up only to be embraced by Glenn, which she readily reciprocates. She pulls back, and notices a lone Figure in the clouds behind Glenn, a strange, otherworldly power radiating from Him. Glenn looks back, nodding silently at this Figure before turning back to her, “I think my time is up. Don’t keep him waiting too long.” _

_ Glenn lets her go, and Ingrid stands vigilantly as she watches him approach the Figure. They share a few silent words together before Glenn turns back to face her as he shouts, “One more thing. When you two have kids someday, name one after me, will ya?” And then, a bright, powerful flash of l _ i _ g _ h _ t _ emerges, and she awakens in her bed, the sun leaving a few spots in her eyes as she turns away from the window.

She quietly rises from her bed, but hears something small drop to the floor as she rises. She looks down to see a small gemstone which she easily identifies as Imperial Topaz, the same gemstone she and Glenn had planned to have inset in their wedding bands. She looks at it closely and notices a faint light emanating from within, and feels a comforting warmth from it. She brings it close to her heart, offering a silent prayer of thanks to whoever or whatever blessed her with this gift.

\--------------

Lysithea’s eyes flutter open, taking in the sight of the unfamiliar room. ‘Where am I? This isn’t Garreg Mach.’ She tries to sit up in bed, but groans in pain as her head starts protesting. 

“Lysithea!” She hears her name called, and she briefly looks around to find Cyril rushing over to her, “You need to lay down. It’s not safe for you to get up yet.”

“Get up yet?” Lysithea asks as Cyril gently forces her to lie down, “What… what’s going on?”

“Do you… not remember?” Cyril asks as he pulls a chair over to her bedside. Lysithea shakes her head, and Cyril starts explaining what had happened, “We’ve only just finished the most recent mission, yesterday in fact. We left Garreg Mach about four days ago and everyone’s getting ready to head back now. You suffered a fracture in your skull during the mission, so it might explain why you don’t remember anything.”

“A fractured skull?” Lysthiea asks, to which Cyril nods readily. “Well, it certainly explains why my head hurts so bad, but what exactly happened?”

Cyril proceeds to explain the events in the tower, from Bernadetta’s superb archery skills up until the floor collapsed under the massive black beast. 

“I think I was the first to come to,” Cyril explains, “When I got up, I found Professor Byleth struggling to get up as well, then… then I saw you,” Cyril shudders at the memory, “You… you were half buried under rubble, and you weren’t responding to my or Professor’s calls. We ran over to you and got you out, but Byleth knew something was wrong. I… I initially thought you had died, but Professor said you just had a broken skull and needed to see Mercedes immediately. You were unconscious for the rest of the day and night afterwards.”

Lysithea cautiously nods her head as Cyril explains, very aware that one wrong move could very well leave her disabled, or worse. “I can only assure that the beast is dead then and everyone else made it out alright?”

“Well, besides everyone getting cut up by the falling debris when the floor collapsed and Leonie stuck on crutches for a few weeks, we’ll recover.”

Lysithea raises her eyebrow and asks, “Leonie’s on crutches?”

Cyril sighs and says, “Yeah. Her leg had gotten crushed under a wooden pillar and, according to Linhardt at least, it broke in three, maybe four places, and would need Manuela’s attention once we’ve returned to Garreg Mach”

Just then, the door of the room opens, revealing Byleth and Claude. 

“Oh… thank the Goddess,” Byleth sighs with relief, “I was worried you wouldn’t make it.”

“I’ll say,” Claude nods before looking at Cyril, “Did you fill her in on what happened?”

“Yep,” Cyril nods in response, “Even told her what happened to Leonie.”

“Good,” Claude replies, “We’re just getting ready to leave. I do hate to say this, but you’ll be sharing a wagon with Leonie as we head back to the Monastery.”

“Ugh… great,” Lysithea moans in disgust, knowing full well just what awaited her.

\--------------

Leonie hissed in pain as she attempted, and failed, to board the wagon. She nearly collapses to the ground, only for Raphael to catch her. “Do you need help?” He asks.

Leonie looks away embarrassed, but nods silently as Raphael heaves her up and into the wagon, placing her gently on the wooden floor before clambering on to join her. “Mind if I sit here for a bit?”

Leonie lifts herself onto a bench in the wagon, moving carefully to avoid irritating her splinted leg. She didn’t normally get injured like this, but the few times she had have been Hell for her. She  _ never _ liked accepting help from others outside of battle, and in her current state, she’d have to rely on damn near  _ everyone  _ in the convoy. On top of that, she felt she became an unnecessary burden on everyone as well. She knew she wasn’t the only one injured badly enough to need to ride by wagon back to the monastery, but the journey itself was three days, meaning every night they’d have to set up camp, make fires, clean up in the mornings and load up for the next leg of the journey, and someone would have to pull double the effort to support her. She  **_hated_ ** this. 

Raphael picks up on her brewing distress and asks, “If you’re not opposed to the idea, I could help set your cot up in my tent to save the effort.”

Leonie’s mind grinds to a halt as her cheeks flush red at the thought of sharing a tent with Raphael. She cowers away from him, which causes him to misinterpret her signals as he stammers, “W-well, if you don’t like the i-idea, then…”

“I… I’m not saying no, I just… didn’t expect it…” Leonie replies quietly, her blush growing brighter, which in turn causes Raphael to turn redder than the tomato bisque he had for breakfast. 

They hear a commotion outside, and they peak out to see Cyril and Byleth helping a semi-reluctant Lysithea down the steps of the Margrave’s estate towards their wagon. Once they reach it, Byleth says, “I’m afraid that seat is reserved for Lysithea, Raphael.”

“Yes ma’am,” the large man replies half-heartedly as he steps down. Cyril and Byleth gently lift Lysithea into the wagon and, as they mind Leonie’s leg, lay her down on the bench. 

“Now, Lysithea,” Byleth beings, “I know you’ll likely try to sit up at some point, but I want to to stay lying down for right now until the convoy stops. Then, and only then, can you move around the wagon.” She turns to face Leonie and continues, “As for you, just sit in a way that’s comfortable for your leg and doesn’t bother Lysithea, ok?”

Leonie nods silently as Byleth steps off, and calls out to the remaining students, “Lysithea was the last one, yes?” After a round of confirmation reaches her, she announces, “Very well. We will follow the same path back to Garreg Mach with Captain Jeralt leading. We will likely set up camp no less than twice as we march. We will also make periodic stops if the injured require any attention. Any questions before we set off?” Byleth gets no response and announces, “Good. Mount up, we leave in five minutes.”

Byleth walks back to the estate and is greeted by Margrave Gautier at the door. “I cannot thank you and your students enough for helping in this matter. Just so you know, all of you are welcome back at any time you please.” 

“Thank you for the kind gesture, Margrave,” Byleth replies with a smile, “I’ll also make sure to keep your son in check once we get back.”

“Oh… I don’t think that’s necessary,” Margrave Gautier replies with a familiar mischievous smile as he looks at Sylvain mounting his horse next to Ingrid as she does the same, “I do believe he already has the help he needs.” 

Byleth only chuckles at the Margraves observation, and replies, “And I certainly hope that it’s for the better. Stay safe, Margrave.” 

“And you as well, Professor,” the man replies as he waves everyone off. 

\--------------

The first day’s march proved uneventful, the periodic stops lasting no more than ten minutes at a time. They set up camp in a large clearing, plenty of space for everyone to take their time and recover. Sylvain, however, walked up to a nearby hill, and stood silently as he watched the stars overhead. He thought about the events of the last several days and the Lance that sat in his tent, the pain it brought to him and his family. Part of him honestly wanted to be rid of it, but he knew that the lance was his and his alone now, and after seeing what it did to his brother, he needed to keep it by his side lest it falls into the wrong hands again. 

“What are you thinking about?” Someone suddenly asks from behind him. He turns and sees Ingrid had approached him, but he can tell she’s nervous about something. 

“The last few days,” he replies with a shrug, “Kind of wished they never happened.”

“I know,” Ingrid says while bowing her head, “Yesterday could just rot in Hell for all I care.”

Sylvain chuckles slightly at Ingrid's observation, and asks, “What did you expect from yesterday’s mission?” 

Ingrid, after thinking it over, says as she shakes her head, “I honestly don’t know. For one thing, I didn’t want you to have to face your brother on your own.”

“It really isn’t a big deal.” Sylvain replies.

“Yes it was,” Ingrid retorts, now irritated as she faces the boy, “No one, least of all someone like you, should’ve had to fight their own family.”

“I-I’m not saying that,” Sylvain says as he backs away slightly, “I’m just saying that yesterday isn’t a big issue for me.”

“How so?” Ingrid replies while crossing her arms, unconvinced.

“Well… I…. Uh…” Sylvain searches for an excuse, and his eyes lighten up as he says, “I have a new weapon to show off.” Ingrid doesn’t reply, and simply glares at her friend as he tries to find a better excuse, “Well… I mean… I have a new story to share… and… and….and……”

Ingrid’s eyes soften as she whispers, “You're worried about what will happen at the monastery, aren't you?”

Sylvain sighs in defeat as he nods his head, saying, “What will people think of me, Ingrid? I… I had to kill my own brother in order to save everyone. I heard in Almyra that you can be tortured for doing something like that!”

“But this isn’t Almyra, Sylvain,” Ingrid replies, “This is Fodlan, and people know better than to make assumptions like that about you.”

“I get that,” Sylvain shakes his head as he turns away, “But when the rounds are made at Garreg Mach about this, people will think even less of me.”

“You know that’s not true,” Ingrid pulls Sylvain’s shoulder to make him face her, “The only ones that matter are the ones who were there with us in that damn tower. Everyone else in Garreg Mach may have a poorer opinion of you, but their opinion was already poor to benign with.”

“How so?” Sylvain asks as his eyebrows furrow.

“For starters, you chase women like a wolf chases deer,” Ingrid answers.

“I mean, I guess you're right,” Sylvain shrugs his shoulders, “But I don’t see the problem with that.”

Ingrid huffs a frustrated sigh before turning away from Sylvain, saying, “Do you know just who you’re hurting by doing that?”

‘Hurting? Wait… ooohhh…’ Sylvain’s eyes widen a little as he realizes, “I guess… chasing multiple women at once can do that.”

Ingrid still doesn’t look at Sylvain, and he suddenly becomes nervous, “I uh… said something wrong didn’t I?”

“Yes,” Ingrid growls, audibly furious. Sylvain feels the urge to run away, but keeps himself planted to avoid drawing her wrath further. 

Ingrid turns back to face him, and he can tell he fucked up with how upset her face appears. “I guess… I should lay off of chasing women then?”

Ingrid just glares at him, not saying another word. 

“Is… is it my jokes about you and the others? Is that why you're upset?”

“No,” Ingrid whispers, her glare only softening slightly. 

“Is it the fact I cheated off you once on a test? Or is it my reaction to yesterday that has you upset?”

Ingrid shakes her head, again her glare still softening. 

Sylvain, now desperate, plants his hands on her shoulders and cries out, “What is it then? What has you- mmph!” As he holds her in place, Ingrid grabs his collar, and she pulls him down to press her lips against his. Sylvain’s hands slipped off as this happened, and he stood there paralyzed and eyes wide as Ingrid pulled his collar harder, trying to make him take the painfully obvious hint. 

‘Oh fuck, I’m dense as iron,’ Sylvain thinks to himself. It had never crossed his mind before that Ingrid could even be remotely interested in him in any way; but realizing this, perhaps her constant attempts to keep his licentious habits in check while everyone else was happy to let him keep going and digging his own grave should’ve opened his eyes.

All too soon, Ingrid’s grip started to loosen, but Sylvain didn’t want this to end, not yet at least. He closes his eyes and wraps his arms around her to hold her in place. She gasps in initial surprise before sinking deeper into his embrace, her arms reaching around his neck to hold him closer. After what felt like an eternity, they separate, looking deeply into each other’s eyes. 

Sylvain, after gulping and getting a somewhat embarrassed look on his face, says, “You know… I think I am an idiot after all.”

“Yes you are,” Ingrid says as they hug each other tightly, “But you’re my idiot to look after.” 

\--------------

Dimitri, Claude, and Byleth are standing around the Sword of the Creator, Byleth shaking her head as she says, “I think somethings wrong. I haven't heard from Sothis since I sent her with Edelgard.”

“You… don’t suppose the worst has happened?” Claude asks nervously. 

“If it had, Sothis would’ve already informed me and we wouldn't be having this meeting,” Byleth replies.

Dimitri, after sighing with frustration, says, “I just wish she would’ve come back by now. I have some questions for her and I was hoping they could be answered before I face Edelgard again.”

“I understand, Dimitri,” Byleth replies, “For now, we should focus on getting back to the monastery and pray that everything turns out alright.” 

Claude and Dimitri nod, though Claude then asks, “What're your thoughts on that black beast in the tower? That couldn’t have been natural.” 

Byleth lets out a shaky sigh and says, “I honestly don't know. On one hand, Lady Rhea did mention that little was known about the Relics being in the hands of a crestless individual for too long, then again… for how long Relics have existed and how much the Church warned of allowing them to fall into the wrong hands, I’m more than willing to bet that she knew they would react like the Lance of Ruin did in the tower.”

Dimitri shifts his stance uncomfortably, and says, “I don’t understand, though. Why would something like a  _ Holy _ Relic produce something so vile and  _ unholy _ .”

“Maybe… it sensed the darkness in Milan’s heart?” Claude theorizes, “Why would a relic grant good power to someone as evil as Miklan? It would only make sense that it would turn him into a monster.” 

“Even then, there is still the question of what happens when it falls into the hands of someone with good intent. Would they turn into a monster?” Dimitri asks as his composure deteriorates. 

“I think we should save this for another day,” Byleth answers quietly, “For now, once we get back to the monastery, we report what happened to the Archbishop and see if any records in the monastery mention this. Go ahead and get some sleep. We still have two days until we get back.” 

\--------------

The next day proved slightly more eventful than yesterday’s march, between people feeling comfortable enough to start discussing what had happened in the tower and Dorothea noting that Ingrid and Sylvain were riding just a little too closely together, which caused a chain of rumors to start spreading. However, Byleth’s eyes were drawn more towards Anna. 

“Hey, Dorothea,” she asks the songstress once she reaches her, “Does Anna seem… off to you?” 

Dorothea looks over at the merchant, and notices that she, for the lack of a better term, seemed to be glowing slightly. Not literally glowing, but her expression was beaming with contentedness and her riding composure was overall relaxed, though a few bad steps by her horse brought the occasional expression of mild discomfort. 

Dorothea, being the hopeless romantic she is, saw all the signs of what could only be the afterglow of intercourse. “Oh my,” Dorothea says quietly with a small blush, “I think Anna and John might have… um…  _ copulated _ last night.” 

“Really?” Byleth asks as a blush of her own creeps up. She looks around and spots John on his own horse nearby, and he too seemed to be glowing the same way Anna is. “Oh… I guess… you might be right. Wait, how the Hell do you know this?”

“I figured it out at Mittelfrank,” Dorothea replies with a shrug, “I’ve seen it no less than twelve times there, the first time being one of the directors after he had a lengthy… ‘talk’ with one of the investors. Manuela was also the one who explained what to look for. That, and it also helped that I saw Anna setting up her tent much further away from camp last night, so she must’ve been planning this for a while.”

“I… see…” Byleth replies nervously, “At least she was being courteous to everyone else in the camp by... going… oh no…,” Byleth looks ahead and sees a courier from the Church galloping over to them. He shares a few brief words with Captain Jeralt before he calls his daughter over to them. “Yes, father?” She asks, worriedly. 

“I need to head back to the monastery ahead of you all,” Jeralt replies, “Something has happened.”

“What happened?” Byleth asks.

“Don’t know, wasn’t told,” the courier replies, “But Lady Rhea seemed ready to break down completely when she sent me, and I didn’t see Seteth at all when I left.” 

‘Oh shit, that’s supposed to happen,’ Byleth thinks to herself as the previous timelines flashed in her eyes. She keeps herself composed, though, and simply replies, “I guess that means I have to lead everyone back, then?”

“I’m afraid so,” Jeralt replies, “I would ask Alois or Gilbert, but they both are still recovering from their injuries. Just follow the path that has led us to the Margraviate and you’ll be fine.” 

Byleth nods as Jeralt and the courier spur their horses into a full gallop, racing back to the monastery.

\--------------

It is late in the night. Jeralt is certain that the students are asleep now, but his mind is more focused on the monastery ahead of him. The gates are sealed tight, and the guards on the ramparts shout out, “Who approaches?”

“It’s Captain Jeralt!” the captain responds, “I need to see the Archbishop!”

The two guards nod to each other before allowing the gate to be opened, and Jeralt is greeted by the sight of chaos. Guards, servants, and maids are running to and fro across the market square, and one guard approaches the captain as he says, “I apologize for the mess, but we need to get you to Lady Rhea now.”

Jeralt doesn’t question what’s going on, knowing all his questions would be answered by Lady Rhea in a few moments. After passing many more people who appeared to be searching every nook and cranny of the monastery and a contingency of guards preparing for an excursion, Jeralt arrives at Lady Rhea’s audience chamber. Inside, he is greeted by a furiously upset Seteth and Rhea looking out of the window. 

“Captain!” Seteth shouts, grabbing Jeralt by the collar forcefully and getting in his face, “Do you know anything!”

Jeralt, somehow remaining calm, asks, “Seteth, what happened?”

“She’s gone!” Seteth shouts, “My sister is gone!!”

“What?” Jertalt replies as his calm demeanor gives way to shocked concern, “What do you mean Flayn’s gone?”

“There’s more,” Rhea replies calmly, though the reflection Jeralt sees in the window shows that Lady Rhea is beyond livid, “We have also been unable to locate the princess.” 

“You mean…?” 

Rhea turns to face Jeralt and Seteth, her eyes filled with rage, “Princess Edelgard von Hresvelg and Flayn both have gone missing.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Boy... that escalated quickly." Ron Burgundy, Anchorman
> 
> Change of plans, I'll have an update next week.
> 
> As always, take care, and God(dess) be with ye!
> 
> P.S.- Any guesses as to who this "Figure" could be?


	22. Ghost Rule

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “メーデー  
> 僕を裁いてよ  
> 最後まで甘えてしまうのは”  
> Or if you can’t read Japanese  
> “Hey ‘Mayday’  
> Bring down the gavel and seal my fate,  
> I who've chosen to act spoiled to the end” -DECO*27 ft. Hatsune Miku (Yes I'm a weeb, sue me)

The convoy of students and knights arrived back at Garreg Mach the next day, and they were greeted by a security checkpoint just outside of the gate.

“All students, knights, and faculty must be searched before they will be allowed to enter!” One of the guards assigned called out, “If you can please organize yourselves in an orderly line so we can conduct these searches as quickly as possible so you can enter the monastery.”

The knights all groan reluctantly as they surrender their weapons to the stationed guards and allow themselves and the wagons to be searched. However, a small issue came up with one wagon in particular.

“She has to remain in the wagon for her safety,” Claude argues with a guard, “Although Leonie was able to get out herself, Lysithea suffered a serious head injury and can not be moved until we are in the Monastery walls.”

“My orders stand, she has to get out!” The guard argues back, visibly irritated by the young noble. “Honestly, what is it with you nobles and thinking you're so much higher than anyone.”

“It’s not a matter of my or Lysithea’s noble rank!” Claude responds back, now visibly irritated, “She has a serious, life threatening injury right now and needs to be removed carefully lest she suffer any further damage.” 

“Now you listen here,” the guard turns to Claude and confronts him, “I don’t care if she’s dying or paralyzed, my orders stand!”

“Private!” The guard jumps and turns to face Captain Jeralt as he angrily asks, “Leave the kids alone.”

“Bu- but captain, this brat here was being…”

Jeralt shoves the guard away and says, “I don’t care. They may be brats, but the student in this wagon can not leave it without special assistance, and we need to get her to professor Manuela so she can be treated. I can assure you that there is nothing to hide in this wagon as I personally loaded it when we began our return. Unless you have another excuse that can get you relieved of duty, I’d suggest returning to your post on the wall where you belong. _THAT_ is an order.”

The guard, after staring in disbelief for several seconds, shakes his head and turns back to return to the wall while Jeralt guides the horses pulling the wagon past the gate. 

“Thanks, Captain,” Claude says while nodding at Jeralt, “I was worried he was going to start a fight.” 

“Don’t thank me yet,” Jeralt replies as he calls over a group of faith mages to help Lysithea, “You need to get to the Archbishop with Dimitri, Hubert and Byleth. She’ll explain what happened. I’ll handle everything here.”

Claude silently nods at Jeralt as he turns down the main hall, curious and frightened of what he might learn.

\--------------

‘Why won’t you answer me, Sothis?’ Byleth asks silently as she climbs the stairs leading to Rhea’s audience chamber. She had seen dozens of servants and maids darting across the monastery in search of Flayn, that much she already knew from the previous timelines, but a few rumors she heard sent numerous chills up her spine. If what she heard was true, then she had a much bigger problem to handle than she initially thought would happen. 

She arrives at the chamber, and is greeted by Rhea facing the window and Seteth nowhere to be seen. ‘Expected,’ she thinks to herself, walking cautiously into the spacious room, announcing reservedly, “We’ve returned from the Margraviate, Lady Rhea.”

Rhea just nods her head and says without turning from the window, “I know. Your father arrived late last night and gave me an approximation of your arrival.” Byleth can tell from the Archbishop’s tone of voice that she is beyond livid, which only worsens Byleth’s fears of the rumors she heard. 

Behind Byleth, an incredibly worried Dimitri arrives, asking immediately, “What’s happened? I kept hearing that Flayn’s been kidnapped?”

Again, Rhea doesn’t turn away from the window, and says, “I’d like to wait for everyone else to arrive before I share anything pertaining to that matter. I don’t want to repeat myself.” 

After a few minutes, Claude, Hubert, Catherine, Shamir, a maskless Jeritza, and Anna, per the Archbishop’s request, arrive, and Anna announces, “I’m sorry I’m late. The one guard insisted he search my wagon and I had to monitor him as he did.” 

“It’s necessary I’m afraid,” Rhea says as she turns to face everyone, her eyes radiating such poisonous malice that everyone, even the ever loyal Catherine and the stoic Jeritza shied away from. “Especially with recent events that took place.”

“If I may ask, Archbishop,” Jeritza asks with his usual monotone voice, though his stance suggested pure terror within, “What exactly happened to warrant such a response from the guards?”

“I’ll explain,” Rhea begins after taking a deep breath, “Four days ago, Seteth came to me asking if I had seen his sister, Flayn, anywhere that day. When I asked where he had last seen her, he said he had sent her to her room after they had an argument with each other over something trivial. That morning, he went to her room to apologize for what he had said to her, and found her room empty. He had searched the grounds of the monastery for almost two hours before he came to me for advice, and I asked a few guards to help in his search. However, before he ventured out, Manuela came rushing in. We initially thought she had found Flayn and had to report her injured, but…” Rhea closes her eyes, “She reported that Edelgard had gone missing as well.” 

This earns a gasp from almost everyone in the room while Jeritza stands a bit straighter as his eyes express shock on the same level as everyone else. Dimitri starts visibly shaking as Byleth steps forward and nearly shouts, “You said she’s missing?!”

Rhea nods quietly and continues explaining, “We launched a full scale investigation across the entire monastery. When we investigated Flayn’s room, we didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. It was as if she had left on her own accord, but Seteth assured me that she would never do that willingly. We also did a thorough search of Edelgard’s room, and besides an empty trunk under her bed with a hastily written letter to her father inside it, we found nothing else.” 

Everyone is speechless. Hubert seemed about ready to break down, his hands shaking as he backed up to a wall. Claude and Anna notice this and risk attempting to comfort the man as Dimitri also starts having issues of his own, picturing just what could’ve happened to Flayn and Edelgard. Catherine and Shamir just stand in place as they, too, picture just what could’ve happened. Byleth and Jeritza share a look with each other, and the former says, “What exactly was written in the letter?” 

“Manuela could tell that her handwriting was panicked, so Edelgard likely knew what was about to happen,” Rhea says with a sigh, “The letter itself was an apology to her father, letting him know that she wouldn’t be able to contact him for some time. Beyond that, nothing else was written. I elected to have it sent to Emperor Ionius IX with our condolences, though we did ask him to keep this hidden for the time being until we can confirm the whereabouts and fate of the princess. I just wish it were more detailed in what was going on.” 

“Did anything else come up since that time?” Jeritza asks nervously, unbefitting his usual personality. 

“Unfortunately, no,” Rhea answers with a mixture of anger and regret, “We can only speculate as to what happened to them, everything from Edelgard taking Flayn to them both being taken. I’ve even heard from a few guards about this Death Knight you encountered in the Holy Mausoleum taking them. I just wish there was more I could do.” 

The people congregated in the chamber spend several minutes in silence, contemplating the ramifications of Flayn and Edelgard’s disappearance, when Rhea asks, “What’s the report from the mission?”

Byleth nods and explains the mission in detail, between Bernadetta’s initial strike against the tower, the climb up, and the hellish confrontation against the Black Beast, but omits mentioning what happened with the Sword of the Creator, a detail she and the rest of the students and knights present at the battle agreed not to share until they could make a reasonable explanation themselves. Rhea remains quiet for the entire thing, and simply replies, “Thank you,” when Byleth finishes. 

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Catherine steps forward, “Just what exactly did we fight in that tower?”

Rhea looks at the ground, lost in thought. She looks up at Catherine and says, “I’ll have to look into some of the older texts about Fodlan’s history. I remember reading of such a ‘Black Beast’ appearing not long after the Church was established, and the description you just gave is similar to what I remember, though I believe it had a different name. If you and the students can write down what you all witnessed, it will make my search easier in the long run.” 

“Of course, Archbishop,” Catherine bows, though a number of doubts still linger in her mind. 

“What do we do now?” Anna asks as she walks away from Claude and Hubert. 

“For now, I ask that all faculty and students remain within the monastery walls for the time being,” Rhea says as she sits on her throne, “I don’t want to run the risk of losing anyone else if it can be avoided. And Byleth, once you have your written report finished, please have it delivered to me directly.” 

“Yes, Archbishop,” Byleth responds as everyone turns and leaves. 

\--------------

That night, Byleth is standing in her room, glaring down at the Sword of the Creator while whispering, “Why won’t you answer me?”

She hears a knocking at her door, and she opens it to find Dimitri and Claude, the former asking, “You wished to see us?” 

Byleth steps out of their way to allow them in, and she closes and locks the door before saying, “Thank you for coming.”

“No problem,” Claude replies, leaning against Byleth’s desk with his arms crossed as Dimitri rests against the far wall, “I can only assume you want to discuss what happened to Flayn and Edelgard?”

“I might have a theory, but I doubt either of you will like it,” Byleth says as she lowers her head. 

“I have the same feeling,” Dimitri says as he glares at the ground, “Edelgard must’ve taken her.”

“I agree with that, but why?” Claude says he shakes his head in confusion, “If she’s been going through all the trouble to tell us the truth about herself, why would she suddenly decide to just kidnap someone, let alone Flayn.”

“Because Sothis likely put her up to it,” Byleth says, now irritated, “It’s the only reasonable explanation as to why I haven’t been able to speak with her these last several days.”

“If that’s the case, what do they know that we don’t?” Dimitri asks as he stands from the wall, his irritation subsiding slightly.

“Either Flayn is in danger, or Edelgard and Sothis were playing us for fools,” Claude says dejectedly, “But I don’t see Sothis being that way, and if Edelgard had indeed betrayed us, Sothis would’ve let us know immediately.”

“But what about the letter?” Byleth asks.

“Red hearing to throw everyone off, maybe?” Claude theroizes, “Given how pissed Rhea is, though, she might suspect it as a red hearing as well.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to start searching the other Black Eagle’s rooms because of their association with her,” Dimitri says, now completely lost, “What are we going to do, Professor?” 

Byleth shakes her head as she whispers, “I don’t know.” 

\--------------

Rhea stood quietly in a locked, spacious closet as a middle aged gentleman entered through a nondescript passageway on the far wall. “Has your search of the Abyss turned up anything concerning the missing individuals, Cardinal Aelfric?” 

“Nothing as of yet,” Aelfric replies, defeated, “Given just how expansive the Abyss truly is, it might take us weeks to search it properly, let alone locate Flayn and the princess if they’re down there.”

“Damn it,” Rhea curses quietly, and then says, “Continue the search. I want them both found alive. And, if the princess is to resist… don’t hesitate to make the Abyss her grave. I’m certain we can find a reasonable excuse if she refuses to cooperate.” 

“Of course, Lady Rhea,” the Cardinal replies as he returns down the hidden passage, leaving Rhea alone. 

Behind her, though, another, considerably younger individual with very pale blue eyes and hair emerges from behind a few crates as he says, “He’s lying. No search has been conducted besides what I’ve already done.”

“I know, Yuri,” Rhea whispers as she turns to the young man, “But he isn’t lying about the extent of the Abyss. Even the library’s sealed records don’t have a complete map of it.”

“And what about the princess?” Yuri asks, “Do you really want us to kill her?”

“Of course not,” Rhea assures, “Doing so would only bring the entirety of Fodlan into war. If she is responsible, I want her captured so she can answer for it. If she does fight back though, do what you can to subdue her.” 

“I understand,” Yuri says as he steps towards the hidden passage, “I’ll be back tomorrow evening with an update.”

“Thank you,” Rhea nods as she turns to leave the room. Yuri enters the passageway and closes the hidden door quietly to avoid drawing any unwanted attention both outside and inside. 

He descends the stairs, entering the Abyss proper. Several wanted criminals and disgraced individuals pass him by, paying him little attention as he continues further down into the Abyss to his room. Once there, he locks the door securely, and peaks under the doors edge to verify he is truly alone. 

“You know,” he hears a voice say from behind him, “For someone playing three sides, you’re pretty doing well.”

\--------------

The next morning is filled with a tense, nearly oppressive air as news of the Princess’s and Flayn’s disappearance made its rounds in the dining hall. This tense air brought out some strange behaviors from people as well. Bernadetta, who would normally need help just getting out of her room most days, is busy helping Hubert keep what few shreds of his sanity he has left in check as he quietly repeats the same phrase over and over, “I never should’ve left her…”

Nearby, Dorothea is being held by Petra as she sobs quietly into her shoulder, praying that Edelgard and Flayn are alright. All the Golden Deer are also huddled together at one table with the remaining Black Eagles, offering their support. As for the Blue Lions…

“You can’t leave, Dedue,” Annette practically begs as the large man is walking towards the gate with his classmates in tow, “We don’t even know where Flayn could be.”

“I don’t care,” he whispers dangerously, “I am going to find her.”

“We understand that, but we really can’t leave,” Ashe argues, “The guards won’t allow it.”

“Besides,” Sylvian, now faring much better after the battle at his home, “You can’t search for her alone. You need us to help you.” 

“Dedue, listen to me,” Dimitri orders, standing in front of the large man, “I understand that you care about Flayn’s well being, but we need to stay here and have a plan of action ready for when we can go out and look for her.”

Dedue stops to look at the prince, his eyes filled with nervous rage and unrest. Ingrid grabs the large man’s arm as she says, “Please don’t go. It’s not safe.” 

Dedue reluctantly nods his head silently as his classmates lead him back to the dining hall. There, they see Byleth, a sobbing Manuela, and Hanneman holding the songstress as they approach them. 

“Is something wrong?” Dimitri asks with immediate concern.

“Manuela is blaming herself for Edelgard’s disappearance,” Hanneman answers, “Byleth and I have been doing what we can to help her, but she’s inconsolable.”

“If…. if….*sniff*.... if I- I hadn’t…” Manuela tries and fails to say, her sobs leaving her unable to form words. 

Hilda, who is sitting nearby, notices and suggests, “Maybe have her and Seteth talk to each other?”

Everyone stops and stares at the pink haired girl, even Manuela stops crying to look at her in mild disbelief as Byleth says, “You… can’t be serious.”

“I mean, they both need someone to talk to, so…” Hilda replies with a shrug. 

“*Sniff*... she…. she might be onto something,” Manuela says as she collects herself, “It… it would be good for both of us if we spent some time and talked to each other.”

“Are you sure?” Hanneman asks hesitantly, to which Manuela nods. “Very well, I’ll take you to him.” 

As Hanneman leads Manuela to Seteth, Byleth looks over the Blue Lions and says, “I’m not sure if Manuela will be in any shape to teach the Black Eagles in the coming days. Hanneman and I were discussing having all three classes together for a few weeks until we can confirm anything with Flayn and Edelgard.”

“It won’t be a problem, Professor,” Dimitri replies, “I think it would help everyone if we stick together for a while.”

“Thank you,” Byleth says, turning to console the Black Eagles, but she spots Jeritza slipping away at the back of the dinning hall. ‘What are you up to?’

She follows the larger man as he snakes his way up and down corridors and cramped hallways until he reaches his office, closing the door behind him as he enters. Byleth tests the doorknob, and finds it unlocked, opening the door with ease. She peaks in and discovers a hidden passage behind a bookshelf had been opened. ‘You want me to follow, don’t you?’ 

She closes and locks the door behind her before venturing into the hidden passageway. She follows a lengthy stairwell deep into the bowls of Garreg Mach, the air growing oppressive and hostile as she reaches the first open room. On one wall, she sees a simple steel sword, which she quickly grabs. As expected she sees a symbol on the floor, and knows just what Jeritza wanted her to do. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she steps onto the symbol, allowing the radiant teleporting energy to send her to a cell she knew all too well. When she arrives, she immediately swings her sword around to her back, and her ears are greeted by the sound of ringing steel behind her as her sword deflects a rather half hearted blow from a lance. 

She whips around and enters a low defensive stance as her eyes open, glaring at Jeritza as he enters a similar stance with his lance. 

“How much has Edelgard told you?” He asks as he points his lance at her. 

“Enough,” Byleth replies as she pulls her sword close, ready to deflect another strike, “What has she told you about us?” 

“The same,” Jeritza answers, darting forward at inhuman speed as he trusts his lance directly at Byleth, but she easily deflects it to the side, and brings her elbow forward and drives it into his shoulder. Jeritza weathers the blow, and slides to a stop behind Byleth. 

“I can only assume that you also know of Sothis as well, yes?” Byleth asks as she swings her sword over herself and deflects another retaliatory blow from Jeritza.

“Although I initially found it to be unbelievable,” Jeritza whips his lance up, smacking Byleth’s sword and staggering the woman, “Her consistent attempts at speaking with me made me think otherwise.” 

Jeritza prepares to land a finishing blow, only for Byleth to dodge the strike and crash her sword against the lance, sending the weapon flying across the room as she points her sword at his chin, and says, “Good. If you were actually serious about this fight, I wouldn’t have been able to do that just now.” 

“Indeed,” Jeritza replies as Byleth lowers her sword, “I just needed to test you and see if Sothis and Edelgard’s claims about your skill were valid.” 

“And did I meet expectations?” Byleth asks as she puts the sword on a nearby rack.

“I’m undecided,” Jeritza answers, “My main concern right now is the location and safe retrieval of Edelgard. Whether Flayn can be retrieved depends on the situation.” 

“I’d rather they both get saved as opposed to just one,” Byleth responds, “I understand your loyalty lies with Edelgard and her will, but if she indeed took Flayn, she’d better have a damn good reason.”

“I certainly hope so as well, professor,” Jeritza nods, “With Rhea having the entire monastery under lockdown, however, any search is severely hindered. I doubt we can even spend too much time down here lest we get reported missing.” 

“That does not mean we can at least do what we can to keep an eye out for them,” Byleth says as they start walking out of the cell, “I only pray that they are alright.”

“I would say the same, but I have trouble keeping faith in Sothis given her personality,” Jeritza replies with a surprising amount of sarcasm, causing Byleth to simultaneously chuckle and recoil in shock at what he said. 

“What brought this side of you out?” Byleth asks as she calms down. 

“My sister,” Jeritza whispers as he looks at the ground, “During the last mission, she recognized who I am, and we’ve spent some time discussing events that have occurred in both of our lives.”

“By ‘sister’ you mean Mercedes, right?” Byleth asks, already aware of their relationship courtesy of Edelgard (and past timelines). 

“Yes,” Jeritza nods in confirmation, “I feel… she’s trying to bring back the boy she once knew, but she also understands that boy is long gone, and her efforts are more to make me a better person than I am now. For that, I am truly grateful.” The two of them step out of the bookcase doorway and Jeritza closes it while saying, “With Edelgard missing, most of the students will likely try and start looking for her once they get the chance. I fear even a few of them will have ill intent if they assume the worst about the princess.”

“If it comes to that, I will personally set them back in line,” Byleth responds, “I want the best for everyone, no matter what they had done in past years. While we can’t erase the mistakes of our past, the best we can do is learn from our mistakes to build a better future, even one where we may not be present to see.” 

Jeritza nods silently, taking in Byleth’s words. They hear a knocking at the door and Byleth opens the door to find Mercedes and Ashe outside, the former asking, “Professor Byleth? Why are you here?”

“Professor Jeritza needed me for advice. He said he wants to start setting up search parties for locating Edelgard and Flayn, but needed help with figuring out which students would work best with who,” Byleth answers readily, an excuse Jeritza nods at from behind. 

“I tend not to interact with too many students outside of the training arena,” Jeritza adds, “I hardly know any of you and I wanted to avoid any infighting between the houses if possible.” 

Ashe just nods at this, seemingly accepting it at face value, but Mercedes isn’t entirely convinced, and simply says, “Very well then. I just needed to discuss something with you, Professor Jeritza.” 

“It’s not a problem,” Jeritza says, “Byleth and I were just finishing up when you knocked.” 

“Yep,” Byleth replies as she turns back to Jeritza, “If you need anything else, just let me know.”

Jeritza nods at Byleth as she stands aside to allow Mercedes and Ashe to enter as she leaves, silently praying that something would come up. 

\--------------

One week has passed, and Edelgard and Flayn have yet to be found. Lady Rhea had made it clear that search efforts were to be kept secret and off the records as to avoid stirring a national incident; even Emperor Ionius IX, in his response to the letter he received, promised to keep things quiet in the empire under the condition that his daughter write to him as soon as she is found. However, within the monastery, troubles had begun to arise…

***BAM BAM BAM***

“Open this door before we tear it down!” A guard shouts loudly as he and several others stand in front of Bernadetta’s door early one morning. 

Bernadetta shoots up in her bed, terrified and confused as to what she could’ve done to earn such scorn from the guards. She quickly makes herself presentable and stands at her door, and asks timidly, “W-what do you want?” 

“We have been ordered to search this room for any evidence relating to the disappearance of Flayn and the princess,” The guard shouts impatiently, “If you do not comply, we will tear this door down.” 

Bernadetta is at a loss. She knows she had done nothing wrong and harbored no evidence. She quickly looks around her room and is about ready to give up and open the door when she hears a new voice outside.

“What in the Hell is this racket?!” a surprisingly pissed Hilda asks, “There’s people trying to sleep, you know?!” 

Bernadetta can hear the guard sigh heavily as he says, “Miss, I am going to ask that you please return to your-” 

“Answer the damn question, asshole!” Hilda retorts violently, causing Bernadetta to take a step back in silent fear. 

“Now you listen here young lady,” the guard responds angrily, “I don’t need to say a damn thing to you.”

“Yes you **fucking** do,” another voice answers with pure malice present, a voice which Bernadetta easily identifies as Byleth. She risks cracking her door open to find all the guards facing away, their hands resting on their weapons as if ready to draw them. On the other side of the group, she sees the lead guard taking a fearful step back as Byleth stalks towards him, pinning him against a pillar as she says, “Who told you to do this?”

“M-my boss…” the guard replies, any presence of authority gone as Byleth sniffs dismissively.

“Your boss... is my father,” Byleth says, nearly spitting on the guard as she gets in his face, her own face contorted into one of pure hatred, “I know for a fact that he didn’t sanction this. He knows better. So answer me honestly, who told you to do this?”

The guard shakes uncontrollably as a large crowd of students form around the pair, their faces awash with disapproval and disappointment. The guard gulps loudly as he answers, “I… I figured if… if we performed searches ourselves… of the student’s...uh...rooms, we’d…. Uh….”

“Wait…” Claude steps forward and peers into the guards eyes, realization forming on his face as he recognizes the man, “Weren’t you the guard that tried to force Lysithea out of the wagon even though she couldn’t leave it.” 

The three guards not pinned against a pillar seem about ready to run, but are planted in place as John and Anna, who had seen the confrontation unfolding from afar after they had an early morning date together, step around to block their means of escape. 

“You know,” Byleth grabs the delinquent guard’s ear, causing him to yelp in pain as she starts dragging him away from Bernadetta’s door, “I think the Captain would absolutely love to hear of this.” The three remaining guards follow suit as Anna and John follow closely behind them to ensure they don’t run. 

Once the guards are out of earshot, Hilda walks up to Bernadetta’s door and asks the young girl as she opens her door, “Are you alright?”

“I-I’ll be fine… in a little bit....,” Bernadetta says, still watching as Byleth drags the guard up the nearby stairs, “Professor Byleth… sh-she can be… terrifying.” 

“Yeah, I’m used to it though,” Hilda replies with a shrug, “Still, at least she knows better than to direct that kind of rage at me or any of our other classmates.” Bernadetta nods at Hilda’s observation, somewhat pitying the guards who ruined what would’ve been a quiet morning for her. 

\--------------

Jeralt sat silently in his office, his ravenously enraged aura enough to cause even a few servants to give the doorway a wide berth. Inside, Byleth, Anna, and John stand at the back, all three about ready to run as the four guards they brought stand rigid in the middle of the room between them and Jeralt. 

Byleth leans over to look at her father, and he is standing from his chair and he slowly walks around the desk to face the lead guard. 

“So,” he whispers venomously, “You think that performing an unsanctioned search and seizure, of a student’s personal quarters no less, was a good idea?” 

The guard, through a furiously sky breath replies, “W-w-well, at th-the time, i-it seemed-”

Jeralt puts his hand over the guard’s mouth, silencing him. He steps over to the other guards and asks, “Do you three have anything to add?” All three shake their heads fearfully, and Jeralt closes his eyes briefly before glaring into their souls, saying with an increasingly louder voice, “If I hear of any of you subverting my _direct_ orders again, I will personally stuff you into a training dummy and use your corpses for target practice. AM I CLEAR!!!” 

“SIR YES SIR!” The three guards announce in unison, not daring to move a muscle. 

Jeralt nods curtly, and orders, “Now, I want the stables spotless by the end of the day or I will make good on my promise. Now go!” The three guards rush out of the room, running from Jeralt’s wrath as the Captain glares at the one remaining guard. “As for you,” Jeralt whispers, “Twice you have subverted my orders. Twice you have made a fool of yourself and the guard. I won’t allow a third time to happen. Surrender your weapon.” 

The guard hesitantly draws his sword and hands it over to Jeralt as the Captain says, “As of this day, you are relieved of duty. I want you out of the monastery by no later than twelve noon, and I don’t want to ever see your face within these walls again. You're dismissed.” The guard leaves without saying a word, almost limping dejectedly as he sulks. Jeralt, after closing the door, walks back to his chair and takes a seat, and spends several minutes calming himself before addressing the other three people in his office, “Thank you for bringing my attention to this. Never would’ve imagined they would do such a thing to the kids.” 

Byleth nods solemnly as she says, “I know. It must not have been easy sending the one guard away like that.” 

Jeralt sniffs in amusement as he says, “The one guy in particular has been a thorn in my side for a while now. I’m honestly glad to be rid of him. Hopefully I can find someone to replace him soon, otherwise I might have to reassign one of the failing recruits to the open post.” 

“You… you don’t intend to do that to me, right Captain?” John asks nervously, drawing a small chuckle from Jeralt.   
  


“Hell no,” Jeralt answers with a grin, “I’d be wasting you if I did.” 

“Yeah, and you’d have one pissed off woman to deal with too,” Anna retorts grumpily as she crosses her arms. 

“As I said, I wouldn't think of it,” Jeralt replies as he chuckles, “You two can go. Byleth, I need to talk to you for a minute.” 

“Sure,” Byleth says as she sits in a chair opposite her father as Anna and John walk out, “What’s on your mind?” 

Jeralt gets a concerned expression, looking away briefly toward Rhea’s room as he says, “I’m starting to wonder if Rhea suspects the Black Eagle students.” 

“I honestly wouldn’t be surprised,” Byleth says with a low voice, “I’m sure you saw how close Edelgard is with her classmates.”

“Well, just know that, if Rhea does want me to start searching their rooms, I’d probably resign and take you with me before I do.” 

“And I’d probably take my students with us, maybe form a new mercenary group out of them,” Byleth replies sarcastically, causing her father to start laughing quietly. 

Once Jeralt calms down, he looks at his daughter’s eyes and says, “Be careful around her from now on, though. If she’s gotten to the point that even she’s pointing her finger at likely innocent people, she might start getting the wrong idea about you.”

Byleth nods quietly and says, “I understand, but that’s not what I’m worried about. She can cry wolf all she wants about me, but if she is willing to blame my students for something that they have had nothing to do with, I will gladly stand up to her and face the consequences that come.” 

Jeralt, knowing that he couldn’t change his daughter’s path, says, “I know. Just be ready for if you do have to face her, because I won’t be able to help you.” 

\--------------

_Two days later…_

“She wants you to do WHAT?!” Byleth cries out, astonished at what John had just told her. He had come to her in a panicked state, and begged that she listened to what had happened.

“L-lady Rhea wants me to spy on Anna,” he says, tears rolling down his cheeks as he starts breaking down, “Do you even know how long it took for me to finally work up the courage to talk to her? I don’t want to lose her over this, not with how much I’ve given already.” John holds his head in his hands as he starts sobbing as Byleth watches him in disbelief, shocked at Rhea’s orders. 

“Did… did she threaten you?” Byleth asks as an inner rage starts building. 

“*Sniff*... she... she said she’d… she’d take… my… my…title… a-a-a-and...” John shakes his head, unable to continue. 

Byleth has heard enough, and takes her dagger and stabs it into her desk, making John jump with fright as he snaps out of his sorrow, and tosses her Sword onto her bed, saying, “I’m going to have a word with her. My advice, tell Anna everything, but don’t do it out in the open. The number one thing that must never be broken in a relationship is trust, and being honest is the biggest expression of trust you can make.” 

“I-I will, Professor,” John says as he leaves Byleth’s room, fearful of what Anna will say or do but determined to keep his relationship with her. As for Byleth, she closes her door behind her, and her countenance made it clear to everyone not to get in her way. 

She angrily storms over to the stairs that lead to the second level, not even minding the fearful glances of passers by. Once she’s at the top, she inadvertently (or purposefully, she wouldn't tell) directs her glare at Tomas, causing the older man to shiver fearfully as he throws an alarmed glance at her as she faces the Archbishop’s doors. She pushes the doors open, spotting Rhea facing out of the window. Byleth steps into the room and not so subtly slams the doors closed, forceful enough that they get jammed shut. Rhea jumps at the sudden sound behind her and she turns to find Byleth glaring daggers at her, and she asks, “Is something wrong, Professor Byleth?” 

Byleth sneers as she yells, “You know exactly what’s wrong, Rhea!” 

Rhea steps back, shocked at Byleth’s attitude as she asks, “What could you possibly mean?” 

“Why the Hell are you trying to turn John and Anna against each other?” Byleth answers, seething with rage.

Rhea, now catching on, tries to calm the situation, saying, “I’m not trying to turn them on each other, I need information on the merchant.” 

“If we are going to discuss them, refer to Anna by her name, damn it,” Byleth growls.

“It is for the good of the Church,” Rhea responds, her own irritation rising, “With Flayn and the princess missing, we need to treat everyone as suspect until we know we can trust them.” 

“And what does that make me, huh?” Byleth says, “What does that make my father, Alois, Claude, Dimitri?”

“I know for a fact we can trust them for what they’ve done for the church,” Rhea responds confidently, convinced she trumped Byleth. 

Byleth, now livid, cries out, “Anna was with us at the fucking Margraviate! If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have been able to stop the damn Black Beast!” 

“That doesn’t prove anything,” Rhea responds, now approaching Byleth, “She is a merchant that we hired to provide extra assistance to the-”

“Like Hell it doesn’t!” Byleth shouts, her voice cracking as a ravenous fire erupts in her eyes, “She has done nothing to earn the distrust of anyone I know. Hell, I trust her more than you right now because you tried to turn someone she trusts against her!” 

“It is for the good of the Church!” Rhea yells back, now unable to remain composed at Byleth’s rebellious behavior. 

“And what the Hell does that even mean?” Byleth says with a low tone, “Does it mean the people of the Church, or are you trying to cover up _your_ lack of effort in locating Flayn and Edelgard by claiming it as the entire Church’s responsibility?” 

Rhea’s glare intensifies, and she stands to full height to look down upon Byleth as she says, “We have been giving everything we have in locating Flayn, and I won’t stand for this insolence!” 

Byleth closes her eyes, lowers her head, and grins as she says in a mocking tone, “You forgot someone.” 

Rhea’s composure breaks as she realizes her mistake, and she steps back as Byleth stalks forward, whispering, “I- I mean… we’ve been looking for Flayn and… and the princess…”

“You really don’t care, do you?” Byleth spits, her glare redoubling in intensity as Rhea is backed against her throne, “You were never worried about Edelgard to begin with. You only see her as another suspect, maybe even the one responsible.”

“And what can you do to defend her?” Rhea responds, her own glare returning, “She has done nothing to earn this Church’s trust.”

“Because you have done nothing to earn _her_ trust,” Byleth retorts loudly, “If I recall correctly, in fact, you blamed her own family’s lack of faith in the Church as the reason they all perished besides her!” 

“The Empire has been against the Church for generations, now,” Rhea snaps back as she once again stands at full height, “You shouldn’t trust her or anyone else from the Empire!” 

“THEN GIVE ME A REASON TO TRUST _YOU_!!!” Byleth screams as loud as possible, fully knowing she just ruined her voice. 

Rhea opens her mouth to speak, but is unable to say anything to win Byleth over. Rhea looks away, and tries desperately to find a reason to give to Byleth, fruitlessly. 

“Answer me, damn it,” Byleth says with a raspy voice, her glare not growing any less intense. 

Rhea gives up, and just shakes her head in defeat as Byleth sniffs dismissively. Byleth turns to leave, and asks quietly, “If Edelgard can give me good reason to trust her, then why can’t you?” Byleth doesn’t wait for an answer, and instead walks over to the doors leading out. Byleth knew she had jammed them walking in, so she simply kicked them open and knocked one off its hinge, allowing it to slam on the ground. The audience that had gathered outside takes a fearful step back as Tomas fumbles with his cane before allowing it to fall to the ground as he tries to appear nonchalant. Byleth ignores the worried looks she gets from everyone, and elects to simply leave the building and return to her room, no one daring to stop her. 

Inside the chamber, Rhea closes her eyes and turns to her room, hurriedly entering it and slamming her door shut behind her, locking it tightly. Once it is locked, only then does she allow herself to break down, crying fitfully for what she had just done. 

\--------------

Later that night, Byleth sits at her desk with her head buried in her arms, scornful for the events of today. She didn’t want to confront Rhea like she did, but it was the only way she could get her to open her oh so glorious eyes and realize what she was doing. Byleth had no doubt Rhea would want to have a lengthy word with her tomorrow, maybe even tonight, but she had no desire to face her any time soon. Byleth needed to find Edelgard, Flayn and Sothis, and if that meant leaving on her own to do so, so be it. 

Byleth hears a sudden knocking at her door, and hears Hilda on the other side saying, “Professor Byleth, I think we’ve found something!” 

Byleth groans quietly, and rises from her chair and opens the door, only to be surprised to find Hilda, Ashe, Bernadetta, Dedue, Dimitri, Claude, and Hubert all present with weaponry in hand. “Wait… *cough*… what’s going on?” Byleth asks, her voice still raspy and failing from her shouting earlier.

“Um… are you alright, Professor?” Ashe asks, concerned. 

“I’m fine, just lost my voice earlier,” Byleth says, waving off their concern, “Just what did you find?” 

“Follow us, and bring your weapons, too. Just in case.” Hilda says readily, quickly running ahead as everyone rushes to follow her. Byleth quickly dips inside her room to grab the Sword of the Creator and her dagger and rushes out of her room to follow. She catches up, and follows her students as they lead her to a small corner room, and inside they find Linhardt leaning against a wall. “Wait, what the fuck?” Hilda asks, “Where’d it go?” 

Linhardt grins, a rare sight to behold, as he presses his hand against one of the stones, and the wall cracks open, revealing a passageway leading down under the monastery. 

“By the Goddess,” Byleth says, astonished, “How did we miss this?” 

“I was resting against the wall when Hubert came to get me,” Linhardt says tiredly, “I pressed against the wall while getting up and it just… gave way, revealing this doorway.” 

“Should we follow it, professor?” Claude asks eagerly. 

“If it closes, will we be able to get out?” Byleth asks, rubbing her throat as it protested her voice. 

“I tested it already,” Linhardt says as he enters, “There’s actually a lever on this side that can unlock the door, so we won’t have any issue getting out when we have to.” 

“Very well then,” Byleth says as she readies her Sword, “Let’s just stick close together and keep quiet. Who knows what could be down here.” 

And thus, Byleth and the students descend into the passageway as the door closes behind them, unaware of a female servant that had entered the room, a sinister grin plastered on her face as a sickly green flame envelopes her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Oh shit.”- Frenzy’s last words, Transformers: The Movie
> 
> Ok, normally I'd have a joke or two lined up, but not this week.  
> Instead, I need to extend a thank you to Zetta1001 for a couple things.  
> First: All relationship tags have changed to better reflect the story. As mentioned earlier, first fic, so errors abound.  
> Second: The last arc lost focus as to what this fic is supposed to be about, so, although it won't happen immediately, a re-write of the arc, primarily last chapter and a few other chapters scattered throughout the story, will happen in the near future. Same events will play out, just from a more focused perspective.  
> That being said, though, I have a special announcement.  
> Given a recent bout of writers' block, I found the best solution is to write more stories, two specifically.  
> The first will be another, more comedic take on Three Houses (and it may or may not include a harem, I haven't decided)  
> My only hint is this: "I'm done [rebirthing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7Nioh8wq3w) now!"  
> The second story is will be taken a little more seriously, featuring Three Houses, Awakening, and Fates, with a prospect that I have always been fascinated about: What would happen if the three worlds were thrown into the same world, but with one [problem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1BS7XnEZqc)  
> (Look at me being fancy with the hyperlinks)  
> Expect the prologues for both to be uploaded tomorrow between 12:00pm to 2:00pm cst. See y'all then.


	23. Disturbia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “It’s like the darkness is alive…”- [Rhianna](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmGjajXDHKo)

Byleth and her students descend silently down the hidden stairs, cautiously listening for any sound from the depths below. They emerge in a lengthy hallway lined with lit torches and a low ceiling, doors leading to rooms on either side, and Byleth gathers everyone together for a brief meeting. 

“Listen, *cough*…” Byleth whispers, her voice still hoarse from her outburst earlier, “I’m starting to get a bad feeling about all this. We need to be extra careful if we move forward.”

“Understood, professor,” Claude says readily, “I’ll probably stick next to you while everyone else scouts ahead, mostly to send messages to everyone since your voice is gone.” 

“Thank you,” Byleth whispers, “I want everyone to go in pairs, so no one is left unattended. Linhardt, I want you to stay with Claude and I in case anyone gets hurt so we can get to them together.” 

“*Yawn* Sounds good…” Linhardt says tiredly as he leans against a wall, “Maybe I can check your throat for you while we wait.”

“I’ll have Dedue with me,” Dimitri says while pointing at the larger man, “We’ll keep an eye out for Edelgard and Flayn.” 

“I’m taking Bernadetta,” Hilda announces, causing Hubert to throw a sharp glance at the girl, “We’ll see if there are any more hidden doors around here.” 

“O-ok…” Bernadetta says nervously, not daring to object out of embarrassment.

“Looks like it’s you and me then, Hubert,” Ashe says as he turns to the man. 

“In that case, we’ll see if there is anyone down here and if they are friendly,” Hubert says as he nods, “We’ll call out if we find anyone.” 

“Good,” Byleth says as she rubs her throat, “Meet back here in one hour. I don’t want the monastery above going crazy looking for us.” 

\--------------

Hilda stealthily opens a door in the hall, peaking in to verify that no one occupies it. Once she gives the all clear, she and Bernadetta quietly walk in. This room isn’t in the best shape, with cobwebs lining the corners and any furniture present rotted and decayed, though a lit candle suggests someone had been here recently. A stray spider then skitters across the floor, causing Hilda to jump and hide. 

“Ah!” she yelps quietly, suddenly cowering behind Bernadetta, “Um… you didn’t see a spider just now, did you?” 

“Yes…” Bernadetta answers flatly, somehow not affected by the eight legged creature, “Y-you wouldn’t happen to have… what was it… Arachnophobia, would you?” 

“W-well…” Hilda scratches the back of her head, “I just thought that all women were terrified of them.”

“I don’t mind them,” Bernadetta replies calmly, “They actually serve as good pets if you take care of them well and they can keep the flies out of a pantry.” 

“Wait… hold on…” Hilda steps in front of Bernadetta bearing an expression of disbelief, “You kept spiders as pets?”

“W-well, my father…” Bernadetta closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to calm herself as she explains, “He wouldn’t allow me to have a pet of any kind, but I kept asking for one, so one day he went out into the garden and found a spider and threw it on me. He said that was the only pet I could have.” 

“Oh Goddess,” Hilda’s eyes grow wide with shock, “Why did he do that?” 

“That’s not even the worst of what he did to me,” Bernadetta whispers, closing her eyes as several more darker memories play in her mind. “But… after he threw it at me, it just clung to my dress and… I didn’t feel afraid.” 

“You didn’t?” Hilda asks aghast, refusing to believe someone as timid as Bernadetta could not fear a spider being thrown at her. 

“Nope,” Bernadetta says with a small grin, proud of her advantage over Hilda, “I started keeping several spiders in the house after that. To be honest, I was fascinated by them. I even kept a few of the more venomous ones in my room for awhile until I read a book about spiders, and I just released them back into the forest the next night. However, most of them escaped their cages and moved into the pantry, and just like that our fly problem was gone. Granted, my father took all the credit and refused to acknowledge any of my involvement, but every other day, when no one was looking, I would visit them, make sure they were safe.”

Hilda throws her hands up and declares, “I give up. You will always be an enigma to me.” 

Bernadetta shrugs as they start examining the walls of the room, searching for any possible secret doorway or passage, but none immediately present themselves. As they search, Hilda would occasionally yelp as spiders would cross in front of her, until one particularly large spider stared at her the wrong way and she says, “Screw this, we’re going to the next room,” while Bernadetta approaches the larger spider to pet its head gently with her finger, making Hilda gag. 

They enter the next room over, and this time there are far less cobwebs and the furniture is in slightly better shape, and again, a single lit candle sits in the room, indicating recent use. 

“So… what theories do you have about Flayn and Edegard?” Hilda asks as she pulls on an old shelf, only for the wood to crumble in her hands. 

“What do you mean?” Bernadetta asks while looking under a table. 

“I mean,” Hilda steps back to look at the girl, “You two have gotten along pretty well, and I also noticed how close you and Hubert have gotten as well.” 

Bernadetta blushes slightly at the mention of the man, but remains composed enough to say, “I think Edelgard might have taken her, but… not for the reason you think.” 

Hilda had already come to the same conclusion, but is curious as to Bernadetta’s reasoning. She tilts her head as she says, “Personally, I think she faked her migraine so she could infiltrate the monastery and take Flayn.” 

“No,” Bernadetta counters firmly, “Her migraine was real. Believe me, I’ve tried; but Professor Manuela can see right through someone faking an illness in a heartbeat.” 

“Well you’ve gotten bold,” Hilda whispers, somewhat taken aback by Bernadetta’s uncharacteristically firm voice, before speaking up, “If she didn’t fake it, then why did she take Flayn?” 

“To protect her,” Bernadetta says confidently, “Why else?” 

“And… just how certain are you of that?” Hilda asks, somewhat confused. 

“About as certain as Hubert gluing himself to Edelgard when she isn’t looking,” Bernadetta says in a surprisingly mocking tone, “He really needs to back away and give her space.” 

\--------------

“ACHOO!” Hubert sneezes loudly, causing Ashe to jump slightly. 

“Are you alright?” Ashe asks with concern. 

“*Sniff*… I’ll be fine. It’s probably the dust, or someone is speaking ill of me,” Hubert replies, throwing a glare at the ceiling as he tries to figure out who it could be. 

Ashe just nods cautiously as he says, “Yeah… I wouldn't be surprised, honestly. You haven't exactly made yourself the most approachable guy at the academy.” 

Hubert throws a half hearted glare at the boy before sighing in defeat and saying, “You’re not wrong. I’ve always served as a buffer between everyone and Princess Edelgard, largely because my duty is to serve the imperial household. I never really bothered with socializing outside of the Imperial family and a few noblemen.”

“Hence why you’re here at the academy now,” Ashe states, “I couldn’t help but notice that you and Bernadetta have been getting along well, and you don’t spend all of your time stalking the princess anymore.” 

“Did it really look like stalking to everyone?” Hubert asks incredulously, to which Ashe nods in confirmation. Hubert looks away, surprised and baffled by this revelation. ‘I couldn’t have been that bad.’ He tries to assure himself, but Ashe dashes those thoughts away with his next statement.

“I also remember when the mock battle took place, you had brought Bernadetta slug over your shoulder to the gate. Everyone was talking about it for days after.” 

Hubert starts turning red with embarrassment, uncommon for the man, as he says, “W-well… she hadn’t left her room yet and she just… dove under her bed spread when I told her we were waiting on her. I had no choice.” 

“And… talking to her didn’t help?” Ashe asks. Hubert shakes his head and Ashe shrugs, “Fair enough. She was just so paranoid at the beginning of the year, I thought she was going to run away one night, but it never happened. Now… you saw her at that old guard tower. She was shooting her arrows like… you’ve heard of the old tall tale of Robin Hood, right?” 

“About the rogue archer who freed a kingdom from a corrupt sheriff?” Hubert answers, and Ashe nods. “Yes, I could easily compare her skill to that of his, though she still needs to improve her social life if she hopes to survive amongst the nobility of the Empire.” 

“And you the same,” Ashe counters, “Speaking of the Empire, how do you suppose it will react if news of the princess’s disappearance reaches it?” 

“Duke Aeiger will likely attempt to put Ferdinand as emperor once Ionius IX passes, which unfortunately is a matter of months now,” Hubert says with a sigh, “I do truly hope we can find Princess Edelgard before that happens. It would destroy her to know that her father had passed away while she was missing.” 

“We’ll find her,” Ashe replies with a pat on his back, “If the worst does come, she’ll at least have you and the rest of the Black Eagles to support her, maybe even the other classes. Hell, with how many times a month Edelgard and Dimitri have tea together, I’d bet he’d accompany her to the Empire so she can ascend the throne.” 

Hubert nods at the young boy, though he doubted the boy's assumption about the prince. Suddenly, the prince in question opens the door to the room they’re in as he says, “Guys, Dedue and I have found something.” Ashe and Hubert look at each other briefly before following the prince.

\--------------

Byleth is sitting against a wall as Linhardt casts a simple healing spell on her throat, the relief immediate as she can feel the pain subside. 

“What exactly happened to make you lose your voice, Teach?” Claude asks once Linhardt finishes. 

“*Cough*… I had an argument with someone,” Byleth answers, her voice slightly raspy but otherwise normal. 

“Not just an argument,” Linhardt counters, “Thanks to a few of my abilities, I was able to gauge the level of damage in your throat, and you had screamed so loud, the air passing out had actually damaged your vocal chords quite badly. If it had healed naturally, your voice would’ve been noticeably different.” 

“Who were you arguing with? Surely it couldn’t have been that bad,” Claude says as he sits next to Byleth. 

“It was Rhea,” Byleth answers, not daring to look at Claude’s nor Linhardt’s eyes as they gasp in shock, “She had wanted John to start spying on Anna for her, and he came to me in a panic because she had threatened to relieve him of his title if he refused.” 

“What?!” Claude exclaims, “Why would she do that?” 

“She said it was for the good of the Church, but I don’t buy that,” Byleth replies as she shakes her head, “She only said it to cover up her own misgivings about Edelgard and anyone else that supports her, including several students. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one who set that guard up to raid Bernadetta’s room and the damn fool was too cowardly to admit it.”

“But why would the Archbishop try and turn people against each other?” Linhardt asks, “I know fear and doubt are useful political tools, but she can’t be so low as to resort to it now.” 

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Byleth answers as she stands, “The only thing I want right now is to find Flayn, Edelgard, and Sothis, and I won’t let anyone stand in my way until they are safe.” 

“I second that,” Claude says as he too stands, “I’ve never been an absolutely staunch supporter of the Church, but if they want to drag their feet while searching for them, then I’ll gladly lead the charge whether they like it or not.” 

“Edelgard is the heir to the throne of the Empire,” Linhardt says while picking himself up, “While I doubt Ferdinand would be a bad emperor, he has expressed little interest in taking the throne for himself. As for Flayn… if my suspicions about her and Seteth’s true relationship are valid, no child should ever be separated from their father in this way, let alone someone who cares as much as he does.” 

“Well, nice to know that someone else shares the same theory as me,” Claude says, slightly impressed by Linhardt, “When did you figure that out?” 

“I’ve seen the way Flayn and Seteth have interacted together when they think no one is looking,” Linhardt answers, “They always go on and on about Flayn’s mother, but never mention her father. I only assumed that Seteth kept it hidden because he had Flayn at a much younger age than what would be considered acceptable.” 

“That, and I was passing by her room once, and I heard her arguing with him and, at one point, she exclaimed ‘dad’ in the argument, so I figured that was the case,” Claude adds while scratching the back of his head, slightly embarrassed, “I actually meant to talk to her about it before she vanished.” 

‘If only you two knew,’ Byleth thinks to herself as she shakes her head. 

“Excuse me,” they hear from down the hall, spotting Dedue as he waved them over, “Dimitri and I have found a way further down.” The trio walks over to the room Dedue had entered to find another hidden door in the wall, this time a bookshelf, with more stairs leading down. 

Dimitri, Hubert, Ashe, Bernadetta, and Hilda enter, with the last one saying dejectedly, “Aw man. I was supposed to find that.” 

“Not that it matters, Hilda,” Byleth says as she starts descending the stairs, “Let’s keep moving, and be quiet. I don’t want anyone or anything attacking us, so if we get found, present yourself as innocently as possible so we can avoid a fight.” 

“And if we do have to fight?” Ashe asks. 

“Then fight to submit, not to kill,” Byleth answers, “We need answers, and whoever could be down here might have them.” 

\--------------

Jeralt should’ve been furious, he should’ve marched into the Archbishop’s personal chambers and gave her a piece of his mind before taking his daughter and leaving the monastery if she hadn’t already. Instead, he was just disappointed, burying his head in his hands as Anna holds John tightly, the last of his sobs echoing in Jeralt’s office. 

“We need to do something,” Anna whispers, “She’s gone too far this time.”

“There isn’t much I can do,” Jeralt explains, “Byleth already torn into the Archbishop after John explained what happened to her, and Rhea just locked herself in her room afterward. She hasn’t even left it since. I’d rather she takes the time to explain herself to us when she’s ready and thinking clearly than to just rush in there and force an answer out of her, and that’s if she wants to talk.” 

“You say that like you don’t trust her,” Anna observes as she and John sit down in a couple of nearby chairs. 

“I don’t, that’s the thing,” Jeralt says, drawing a curious gaze from Anna and a sulking John. 

“*Sniff*… w-why don’t you trust her and yet you still serve as Captain?” John asks, his earlier cause of grief forgotten. 

“It’s going to be a long story,” Jeralt says as he readies himself, “When I was still young and initially served as Captain of the Knights, I had met a priestess within the Church named Sitri. She was wonderful, and everything I could have dreamt of in a woman. We eventually married, and before long, she had gotten pregnant. But…” Jeralt sheds a tear as he looks away, “Even early on, we knew there was a problem. Sitri would often be unable to rise from bed most mornings, and as her due date came closer, she only grew weaker.” 

Anna covers her mouth as a few tears roll down her cheek, and says, “She didn’t make it, did she?” 

“But that’s the thing,” Jeralt says quietly, “I wasn’t there for the birth. I had been deployed to Faerghus to assist with a recent invasion from Sreng when Sitri went into labor. When I came back… Rhea told me she didn’t make it, and led me… to Byleth.” 

“Does she know?” John asks, “Does Byleth know what happened?” 

“I was planning on sharing this with her soon, introduce her to her mother’s grave,” Jeralt says as he closes her eyes, “But… Byleth was different from most children. Byleth never cried, not once when she was an infant. I took her to a physician in town who explained that Byleth somehow lacked a heartbeat, and yet was just as alive as you or I.” 

Anna and John gasp in unison, the former saying, “But that’s impossible. How can you live without a heart?” 

“Well ain’t that the kicker,” Jeralt says as he sits back, “Rhea was the only one who was there for Byleth’s birth. She must’ve done something to Sitri and Byleth to leave her without a heartbeat. That day forward, I couldn’t trust Rhea. So, with the help of that same physician, I prepared for our departure.” 

“What did you do?” John asks, “Did you run away?” 

“If I did, Rhea would’ve chased me,” Jeralt answers, “One day, I took Byleth to the physician and left her in his care as I returned with a decoy made of wheat. I left it in my room, and spent most of my day going about my business. Towards the end of the day, with a little help from who would eventually become the first mercenary I would hire for my group, a fire started in the barracks. Where the student’s sleep now used to be the old soldiers’ barracks, and my room was in there.” Jeralt grins slightly at the memory, “I will say, even Manuela would’ve been impressed by the show I put on, pleading to be let through, refusing to accept that my daughter was gone. All of it worked exactly as planned.”

“That’s… a rather cruel trick to pull,” Anna observes, taken aback by the captain’s bold plan, “Were you able to fool Rhea?” 

“I’d like to think I fooled her,” Jeralt says, “The next day, with nothing more than a horse, a few hundred gold, a cloak to hide my face and the clothes on my back, I left the monastery. I didn’t collect my daughter until late that night, to keep her hidden of course, and we left the region all together, settling in the Alliance for a spell several years later after wandering as vagrants with an ever growing band of mercenaries who were all too happy to work for the legendary ‘Blade Breaker.’” 

“You said you settled in the Alliance for a while?” Jeralt nods at John’s questions before he asks, “Is that why Leonie has such a hero worship of you?” 

“In a way,” Jeralt answers, “She had come up to me with questions about mercenary life when we stopped in her village, and I did actually help her with some of her techniques with axes. Even went out with her father for a couple hunting trips during that time. I almost considered introducing her to Byleth, give my daughter a friend close to her age, when a group of Knights showed up. It was strictly a public safety patrol coming into town to rest, but I knew I couldn’t stay for very long. I bid my farewells and we continued traveling for a while until we reached Remire.” 

“Wow…” Anna says, astonished, “But… if Byleth never cried as a child, what changed.” 

“Whatever changed only happened recently,” Jeralt says, “When she grew up, she showed almost no emotion in any way. Then, the day before we reached Remire, I could tell something had… changed in her. I can only assume her heart must’ve restarted or something close to it. I think she burned herself on her lamp when packing for the trip, and she had a pained expression on her face when we were marching. I could also tell that she was trying to hide it, but it only left her frustrated. That night, when we reached the inn, I wanted to talk to her about it, but I couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t have left her feeling uncomfortable or distrustful of me. If I’m honest, I was slightly relieved when the house leaders showed up in the town to report the bandits because that meant I had more time to consider my options. We fought the battle, everything ended well, and I started walking over to Byleth and she was just… talking. She had a normal conversation with the house leaders. That had never happened before. She was always either too quiet, answered with yes or no, or just asked questions. I… I couldn’t explain to you just how happy I was as a father to see that.” Jeralt closes his eyes and smiles at the memory, before the smile runs away and he says flatly, “And then Alois showed up.” 

“And the rest is history at that point?” John asks, to which Jeralt nods silently. 

Anna sits back as she rests her finger on her chin and says, “Well, I guess we could ask Byleth what changed, but I’d imagine she’s in no mood to talk right now, so…” 

“Just give her space,” Jeralt says, “Tomorrow morning, if she hasn’t left the monastery by then, I’ll talk to her, and depending what she wants to do, I-” 

Suddenly, the entire room shudders violently, a deafening boom accompanying it, causing Anna and John to cling to each other as Jeralt grabs hold of his desk. The shudder only lasts for a brief moment, and Jeralt quickly stands and looks out the window, cursing quietly as he spots multiple pillars of smoke rising from the monastery. “John, get your fellow knights and tell them to extinguish the fires and tend to any wounded.” He hands John a small medallion bearing a dragon’s head on one side and a pin on the other; one reserved for temporary commanders of the knights. John nods sharply as Jeralt turns to Anna, “As for you, go check on the students for me please. Make sure they are all accounted for and in their rooms if the dormitories are undamaged.” 

“You got it, sir!” Anna answers readily, and she and John rush out of the room as Jeralt looks back out the window, a subtle feeling of dread flooding his heart. 

\--------------

Byleth and her students emerge into a large room, small halls and support pillars dotted sporadically throughout. 

“Oh great,” Ashe says sarcastically, “It’s the mausoleum all over again.” 

“Unfortunately,” Byleth says, “Best if we just stick together and-,” 

“GET DOWN!” Bernadetta suddenly shouts, pulling Byleth out of the way of a black fire ball as it explodes against the door frame behind them. The students quickly scatter, hiding behind the pillars. 

“Intruders!” They hear a young woman shout from further in the room.

They hear the loud clattering of footsteps as an older man shouts, “Capture them alive and let none escape!”

“Well that’s just perfect,” Byleth growls, seething with anger as she orders, “Defend yourselves! Subdue them so we can get answers out of them.” 

“Yes, Ma’am!” Her students shout in response, and they all begin moving forward from pillar to pillar as arrows and black fireballs shoot past them. 

Dedue and Dimitri stand back to back behind a pillar, watching as someone darts quickly between pillars as they approach. 

“Which side?” Dimitri asks, holding his lance so the pole is facing out. 

“Yours,” Dedue whispers as he peaks around the corner, “Here she comes.”

Dimitri swings the blunt side of his lance out, striking the woman in the head as she slams back into the ground. Dimitri whips his lance around and points the blade side at them and declares, “Stay down.” 

The woman raises her arms fearfully as Dimitri takes in her appearance. Her eyes and hair match in color, identical shades of red, though her hair is in desperate need of maintenance. Her skin seemed as tan as Claude’s, and the uniform she wore was faded ashen white, and exposed a generous amount of her midriff. Neither Dimitri nor Dedue are thrown off by her appearance, and the latter simply asks, “Who are you?”

“H-Hapi,” she answers, her tone alarmingly absent of emotion even though her eyes say otherwise.

Dimitri and Dedue look at each other briefly before Dimitri asks her, “Why are you down here?”

_ Nearby… _

__ “Oh, Goddess damn it,” Hilda curses as she jumps over to another pillar, a halberd narrowly missing her as she jumps. She hears her pursuer grunt in frustration, and she jumps to another pillar as he swings around the previous one. She, unfortunately reaches a wall, and turns to face her attacker head on. The halberd swings around and she meets it with her ax, deflecting it wide as her pursuer emerges from the other side of the pillar to regain his footing. She squints her eyes for a moment as she recognizes his messy black hair. “Wait, Baltie?” 

The man sharply turns his ear to her, then he stands up quickly and faces her, his brown eyes filling with shock and confusions as he says, “Hilda? The Hell are you doing here?” 

“I should be asking you the same thing,” Hilda says, equally as shocked. 

“I’m sorry, but you said his name is ‘Baltie?’” Linhardt asks as he peaks from around a pillar, somewhat lost as to what had happened. 

“Um… we should stop this,” ‘Baltie’ says as he runs back to his apparent allies further back, leaving a thoroughly confused Linhardt and a seriously shocked Hilda behind. 

_ Nearby… _

__ “Show yourself, you worthless, gutter born troglodyte!” A woman shouts from afar, allowing Hubert to identify her as being of noble birth. Worse still, he suspects he knows this woman, and ultimately decides to face her personally. He raises a series of magical barriers between himself and her, and carefully moves between them while following her increasingly panicked voice. “Stay back, or I will strike you down!” She shouts unconvincingly. 

Just when he thinks he has her, a sudden blot of magic strikes him in his arm, knocking him down and leaving his arm paralyzed. The woman, with short blond hair and enraged blue eyes, steps forward towards him, though her pace slows as she observes him. Hubert curses under his breath as he, too, recognizes the woman. 

“Well, Hubert von Vestra,” the woman says, “I can only assume Ferdinand put you up to this?” 

“No, Constance, I did this myself,” Hubert groans with pain, picking himself up slowly knowing that whatever danger he was in no longer existed. 

“Awfully inappropriate for a man like you,” Constance replies with a haughty tone, as if mocking him, “Now explain why this is the case.” 

Hubert just levels a flat glare at her and says, “Only once your allies have stopped attacking mine.” 

_ Nearby… _

__ Bernadetta hid behind a pillar timidly, with Ashe behind another next to her. Their pursuer hadn’t said a word, though they both could hear his footsteps as he approached them. The footsteps stop, and Ashe pulls his lance as Bernadetta draws her dagger. They nod at each other, and Ashe swings his lance around the pillar, greeting the steel of a sword as his strike is parried away; knowing their attacker is distracted, Bernadetta, her eyes glowing with determination, steps out and tackles the man to the ground, pinning him as she holds her dagger at his throat. However, once she gets a good look at the man, she freezes as she stares into his pale blue eyes. 

‘No…’ Bernadetta’s grip on her dagger loosens, falling harmlessly to the side as she backs away, fearful of the man in front of her, whispering, “I- Impossible…” 

“Wait,” Ashe suddenly says, also recognizing the man in front of him, “Yuri?” 

Yuri looks between Bernadetta and Ashe, shocked and confused. Benadetta starts shaking violently as panic starts to set in, which Ashe notices immediately, kneeling down to try and calm the girl as Yuri also backs away. 

_ Nearby… _

Cardinal Aelfric grew impatient, not typical for the man. He hadn’t heard anything from the Ashen Wolves, and worse still, it seemed he would have to face the apparent leader of these invaders alone. While he certainly could hold his own against one, the fact that their leader had an archer following them made things… difficult. ‘If they defeat me, all my work will be for naught.’

Aelfric narrowly dodges a stray arrow from the annoying archer, and dips behind a pillar as a few denizens of the Abyss take up positions beside him, one saying, “This is ridiculous, no one should’ve known of a surface entrance.” 

“I can only assume these people have something to do with the missing princess and that kid,” another denizen says gruffly, “How else do you think they got them?”

“Brock, Hunter,” Aelfric orders, “Make sure the main entrances are sealed; the Ashen Wolves and I can handle things here.” 

The two other men nod and sprint towards a separate pair of stairs while Aelfric moves to another pillar. He can hear Balthus shouting for him, but Aelfric focuses on the people attacking. Suddenly, he sees what he can only describe as a bladed whip shooting past the pillar and wrapping around. He only has a brief moment to duck as the blades rip the pillar in half, sending stone and debris flying as he crawls away fearfully. He turns back to find his pursuer standing over him, a glowing, segmented sword pointed at him. ‘Wait, I know that sword.’

He looks up, and he gasps as the dust clears, revealing a woman that he swears he recognizes. ‘It... it can’t be her. She’s still dead. Then that means…’ 

“Aelfric!” He hears Balthus shout from nearby, only to hear him yelp in mute fear. 

“Stand back,” a new voice says with forceful authority, “Or he gets it!” 

“Wait!” Aelfric shouts, drawing the attention of the archer, only to realize that this archer is not only a student of the monastery, but also one of the house leaders. ‘Oh… Rhea is going to kill me.’ 

“Stand down!” Aelfric shouts at the remaining Ashen Wolves and denizens who’ve arrived. “Stand down. They’re just students from the academy.” 

\--------------

“I do deeply apologize for our sudden reaction,” Aelfric says nervously, the Ashen Wolves gathered around him while Byleth’s students are gathered around her. “We never expected anyone to be able to find one of the surface entrances of the Abyss.”

“The… ‘Abyss?’” Byleth asks incredulously. Everyone had already been introduced, and right now, behind her, Dimitri and Dedue stand vigilantly, their expressions neutral as they observe these, so called, ‘Ashen Wolves’ and the other denizens residing down here. On the right, Hilda is glaring at ‘Baltie’ specifically while whispering an explanation to Linhardt. On the left, though, Bernadetta holds Hubert tightly, burying her head into his chest as he holds her, refusing to look at anyone while Ashe and Claude offer their own support for her. 

“It’s… complicated,” Aelfric explains, “The Abyss had always been here. It’s a sprawling, ancient crypt likely built even before the monastery above us. We don’t have a complete map of this place, but we’ve been exploring it little by little.”

“But why are you down here in the first place?” Dimitri asks. 

“Cardinal Aelfric,” one of the denizens, Brock, calls out, “We’ve just finished securing the-,” but freezes when he sees the students. 

Byleth and her students step back, their hands drawing their weapons as they stare at the man, recognizing him as one of the bandits they captured at the Red Canyon. Behind the man, the other bandit they captured rushes down the stairs, and he too freezes once he sees the students. 

“Wait!” Cardinal Aelfric steps in between Byleth and the bandits, attempting to calm the situation, “I was about to explain this, actually. There is a reason they are down here.”

“But… I thought they got executed?” Hilda asks as she lowers her ax.

“Officially, yes,” Aelfric says, “In reality, they were brought down here per my request. The Abyss serves as a sanctuary for anyone who wishes to disappear from Fodlan’s surface. It’s a mercy granted by Lady Rhea to anyone who she believes deserves it.”

Byleth’s eyes narrow at the men, but the two apparently former bandits just step back from her gaze while Aelfric’s eyes seem to plead with her. Byleth sighs as she lowers her sword, and her students do the same. “How many are down here?”

“About the same population, maybe slightly less than the monastery’s,” Aelfric explains, “Everyone's free to come and go as they please, but also understands that it is their own risk to take if they do.”

“Hence why we’re down here,” Brock says, “We have nowhere else to go, and we have food, shelter, and something to do besides running from our past here. I just hope you can forgive us for what we’ve done.” 

“Yes,” the other man, Hunter, says, “We won’t say we’ve turned a new leaf, but we hold no grudge against you or the others.” 

“I see,” Byleth says as she starts to understand this place better. She turns to face the Ashen Wolves and asks, “And what of you four? Why are you down here?” 

“Excess debt that I never owed,” the tallest, Balthus, says, “As well as some family issues.” 

“Is that why you disappeared?” Hilda asks as she tilts her head. 

“Something to that extent,” Balthus replies as he scratches his head, “Probably should’ve sent a letter to you and your brother explaining what happened.” 

Byleth just nods at this as she looks at the other man, Yuri, and asks, “What about you?” 

Yuri looks between Byleth and Bernadetta, who shies away from his gaze, and says, “I’d… rather not talk about it. It’s a personal matter that I need to handle alone.” 

Before Byleth can reply, Hubert interrupts and asks Constance, “I can only assure you’re down here because of what happened to your family, yes?” 

“In a way,” Constance replies, getting slightly defensive as she continues, “But that won’t stop me from restoring my family name to greatness.” 

“So why stay down here then?” Hubert asks, causing Constance to balk and turn away dismissively. 

Knowing she won’t get an immediate answer to Hubert’s question, Byleth turns to Hapi and asks, “And what about you?” 

Hapi looks away briefly and says, “I… my trust was taken advantage of and… I had no choice but to stay down here.” 

Byleth had seen this type of avoidance in previous timelines before; from Bernadetta, Marianne, and, in this timeline, Edelgard. There was more to her story that she wasn’t telling, and Byleth resolved to get to the bottom of it. 

“I only came down here some years ago when I was ordained as Cardinal,” Aelfric suddenly says, “I saw the horrendous condition of this place and those who had already inhabited it at the time, and I, with Lady Rhea’s blessing, set about restoring this place as a peaceful sanctuary to those who simply wish to disappear from Fodlan, whether it be for a few years, or a lifetime.” 

“Well… certainly seems like a reasonable set up you have,” Byleth says quietly, “Just how extensive is the Abyss?” 

“Deep,” Yuri says, “Where we are settled is only just the surface. There are many more floors that remain undocumented and unmapped simply because it is that extensive and dangerous. To properly document it all will take months.” 

“Unfortunately, with the princess and Seteth’s sister missing, our exploration efforts have come to a stop as we’ve had to start searching for them,” Aelfric says dejectedly, “If only we had more time to document this place properly, any search down here would be far easier.” 

“Understandable,” Byleth whispers in response, cursing in her head as this search led to less of a dead end and more of a branching pathway to likely more dead ends. 

“Actually, professor Byleth, I have a request I’d like to make,” Aelfric says. 

Byleth tilts her head and says, “Go on.” 

“During the… scuffle, shall we call it, I’m fairly certain you saw the overall skill level of the Ashen Wolves when you fought them,” Aelfric explains while pointing at the Wolves in question, “I was wondering if you could take them under your wing as unofficial students in the academy.” 

Byleth quickly scans the Ashen Wolves to gauge their reactions. Yuri shifted nervously, throwing a suspicious glare at Aelfric; Balthus looked genuinely surprised by this, perking up slightly at the prospect; Constance, however, turned deathly pale, and her hands started shaking ever so slightly, and Hapi just seemed completely disinterested in the offer. 

Undecided, but not entirely opposed, Byleth says, “I doubt we’d be able to keep this hidden from Lady Rhea for very long. I’ll ask her opinion before I can confirm anything.” In truth, Byleth still had no interest in facing Rhea for at least another week, or ever again depending on how things go over the coming days. Byleth still hasn’t ruled out leaving the monastery altogether to search for Edelgard and Flayn if she had to. 

“I understand,” Aelfric assures, “Taking on four new students midway through the year would certainly be a challenge even for a seasoned professor such as Hanneman. Do take your time and consider.” 

“I will,” Byleth says as she nods her head, “I just hope that-” 

Suddenly, they all hear a loud series of explosions from above, shaking the ground they stand on as dirt and old stone pebbles fall from the ceiling. Everyone besides Byleth, Yuri, and Claude fall to the ground, unable to stand on the vibrating earth. As the shaking comes to a halt, Byleth’s heart sinks as she notices several clouds of dust flowing down the staircases surrounding the room. “Oh no…” she whispers as she runs over to the staircase she and her student’s descended to enter the Abyss. 

\--------------

Anna sprints though the ruined monastery, avoiding rubble and exposed flames as she hurries to the gardens. She knew she had to do a head count, but she remembered overhearing one of the students planning to have tea in the garden, so she figured she could check there first and then lead them back to the dorms. 

Following a group of guards, she enters the gardens to find one half intact and alive, though the other half is damaged by stone debris and scorch marks as fire spews from a newly created hole in the nearby wall. She quickly scans the garden to find two of her queries, Sylvain holding his ankle in pain as Ingrid slowly comes to. Anna rushes to the young man’s side and asks, “Are you two alright?” 

“Sprained ankle, but other than that I’m fine,” Sylvain answers calmly, “Hell of an explosion, though.” He looks at the raging fire as several knights try desperately to contain it. 

“I’m fairly certain I’m uninjured,” Ingrid also answers as she gets up to her feet, “What of everyone else?” 

“I haven’t checked on them yet,” Anna answers as she casts a healing spell on Sylvain, “I wanted to check if anyone is in the gardens first.” 

“Well,” Sylvain says as he rises to his feet, rolling his once sprained ankle, “Thanks for checking, then. Mind if we follow you?” 

“Please do,” Anna says as she leaves with Ingrid and Sylvain following close behind. They enter the main courtyard, observing multiple pillars of smoke that have emerged from around the monastery while also looking out for the other students. Several, specifically Felix, Casper, Lorenz, and Lysithea, stand on the upper level walkway, looking over the monastery. 

“Hey!” Felix calls out to the trio below, “Where were you?” 

“In the garden having tea with Ingrid,” Sylvain calls back up with a merry grin, “It was pleasant until the wall attacked us.” 

Lorenz and Casper chuckle at Sylvain’s joke while Felix rolls his eyes and Ingrid softly elbows Sylvain. Lysithea just shakes her head and says, “At least you’re all Ok.” 

“Where’s the rest of your classmates?” Anna asks the students above her, “I need to get a headcount of you all.” 

“Cyril just left to check on Rhea,” Lysithea answers, “Raphael also went to check on Leonie in her room. He was worried she might’ve fallen and can’t get up.” 

“While I am certain that she will be fine,” Lorenz states, “I still feel that Raphael is more than justified in checking her, just to be safe.” 

“Anyone else?” Anna asks. 

“Mercedes was sitting on the bench behind you talking to a maid when the explosions happened,” Felix answers, “Once the dust started to settle, I saw her running off to the knights’ quarters. She must’ve gone to get some help.” 

“Yeah,” Casper confirms, “I also saw Dorothea and Petra entering the Dining Hall before the explosions started. Thank goodness there wasn’t one in there.” 

Anna counted off the students named in her head, and knew that there were too many unaccounted for. “Thank you,” she says, “That really helps. For right now, stay in your rooms, Captain Jeralt’s orders. Once we have everyone together, we can start figuring out what happened.”

“Sounds good,” Sylvain says as he and Ingrid run up the stairs to their rooms while Anna runs to the Dining Hall. Once there, she finds Dorothea and Petra huddled under a table, both shivering fearfully. 

“Hey,” Anna suddenly says, causing the other two women to jump. “Oh… sorry. Are you two alright?” 

Petra nods and says, “We are. I just thought a  _ seismós _ had happened so I pulled Dorothea under here.” 

“A…  _ seismós _ ?” Anna asks, the word new to her. 

“It’s when the ground shakes violently and causes buildings to col… cola… *sigh* to fall down,” Petra answers as she and Dorothea emerge from under the table. 

“I see,” Anna replies timidly, scared of such a concept, “I guess they happen in Brigid?” 

“Sometimes,” Petra answers, “But our buildings were made to… withstand(?)… yes, withstand them.” 

“I knew they were explosions to begin with,” Dorothea says, “But hiding under a table is still the safest bet.” She looks around herself with a worried expression as servants, guards and knights are rushing to the fires that have spawned throughout the monastery. “I just hope no one has been seriously hurt by this.” 

Anna nods as she also watches the people rushing about, and says, “You two should head back to your rooms. I’m about to take a headcount, and it will be safer if you’re there.” 

Dorothea and Petra nod as they both run out of the Dining Hall while Anna runs towards the fishing pond, praying that everyone will be safe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes... I'm a bastard, I know. 
> 
> And now, for an announcement: I am taking the week of and the week after the New Year (the dates being 12/28/2020 and 1/4/2021) off from posting on this story, but that doesn't mean I won't stop writing. To make up for it, I have a special gift for everyone on Christmas day next week that is sure to provide more questions than answers once the New Year hits, as well as a few more chapters to the new stories I'm writing. 
> 
> If you haven't had a chance to see them, they are [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27960389/chapters/68478947) (Sothis is a baby) and [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27961034/chapters/68480750) (WTF happened to America).
> 
> Hope everyone enjoys their day and I will see everyone in the comments or next week, depending on what you decide to do.


	24. Wrong Side of Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I’m on the wrong side of Heaven, in the righteous side of Hell”- Five Finger Death Punch

Byleth clawed desperately at the pile of rubble in front of her, hoping an opening would be made. But as she digs, more and more debris falls down to take its place. ‘No… please… not like this…’ she thinks to herself as she pulls a larger rock and throws it behind her. ‘We can’t be trapped… we can’t...’ 

“Professor?” She can hear someone calling to her, but their words fall on deaf ears as she continues trying to make an exit. “Teach!” 

“I’m almost there,” She says unconvincingly, “I know it.” 

“Byleth!” An arm grabs her shoulder, pulling her away from the collapsed stairwell. She turns to face Claude, his expression forlorn. “Stop. It’s no use.” 

Byleth shakes her head in disbelief, unable to accept their fate. “No…” she whispers, “It can’t… we can’t…*Hic*” She pulls Claude close, burying her head in his shoulder as her cries echo through the hall. 

In the room that leads further down, Byleth’s remaining students all begin realizing their fate as well. Dimitri rests against a wall, closing his eyes as he curses whoever was responsible for this. Dedue just looks at the floor, refusing to say the dark thoughts that have crept into his mind. Bernadetta clung tightly to Hubert, his jacket growing wetter as her tears fell freely and her soft cries managed to break his iron heart, his arms holding her protectively. Ashe sits on the ground, his head buried in his knees as light sniffling can be heard from him as Linhardt pats his back comfortingly. And Hilda sits against the wall, her body nearly limp save for her rhythmic breathing as her eyes stare at nothing. 

At the stairs, Cardinal Aelfric steps into the room as he looks at the gathered students, his own expression filled with hopelessness as he says, “Is this one blocked as well?” 

Dimitri, not even opening his eyes to look at the cardinal, simply nods his head as he says, “Claude and Byleth are at the other stairwell.” 

Aelfric looks away, cursing silently at this sudden turn of events. He looks back at the students and says, “The supplies that we have down here will last us for about another month. Thankfully, we have access to a few wells throughout the Abyss, so water won’t be a long term issue, but we aren’t certain if there are any other exits besides the ones that lead to the surface. We can only pray now that those above can get an opening made for us in time.” 

“And… *sniff*… if they can’t?” Ashe asks as he looks at the cardinal, his eyes bloodshot. 

Aelfric looks at the boy sorrowfully and says, “Then we make peace with the Goddess.” 

A few minutes later, Claude walks in while holding Byleth tightly with his arm, and says, “What do we do now?” 

Aelfric looks at them both and answers, “We... may have to go down, further into the Abyss. I’ve already told the Ashen Wolves to go ahead and get a few rooms cleared out for all of you until we can start discussing this.” 

“No point in staying here,” Ashe whispers as he rises, and walks over to help Hilda to her feet, “Let’s just go.” 

The remaining students and Byleth don’t question the young boy, and descend down the stairs to the room where their engagement against the Ashen Wolves took place. There, they find a couple more familiar faces that they thought were exiled. 

“Cardinal,” the first man, Julias, calls out, “We’ve checked all the stairs leading up. They’ve all been blocked.” 

“Even the one leading to the dungeon?” Aelfric asks. 

The second man, Ralph, replies, “That one we could get up the stairs, but the room it connects to is completely destroyed and caved in. We tried to clear a path, but more of the ceiling came down as we did. I suspect that, whatever happened, it was deliberate and premeditated.” 

“Did you find anything in the room?” Aelfric asks curiously. 

“We found traces of burnt sulfur and bits of metal all over the place at the stairwell,” Julias answers, presenting one such piece to Aelfric, “It was hot when we found it, but it has cooled since.” 

Aelfric cautiously takes the piece of metal and inspects its warped and jagged shape. He sniffs it carefully and identifies a faint sulfuric smell. “Whoever did this,” he says with a low voice, “Must be an experienced, albeit deranged alchemist. I doubt just anyone would have developed a weapon like this without suffering a number of injuries to themselves or causing harm to others.” 

“Given the fact that all the stairways have been blocked by this,” Ralph says, “They must want us trapped down here.” 

“But why?” Byleth whimpers, refusing to look up as tears fall to the ground, “Why would they do this?” 

“We only live on the upper most floors of the Abyss,” Aelfric explains calmly, “There are still many more floors below us that may hold secrets and treasures that even we don’t know about. Whoever did this wants whatever’s down there, and we can only guess as to what it could be.” 

Byleth simply deflates, unable to say anything else. Claude, feeling her sag a little more in his arms, says, “I think we all need to rest for now. It was late in the day before all this happened, so after we get some sleep, maybe we can start planning a possible escape with a clearer mind.” 

“I completely agree, young man,” Aelfric says with a nod, “Just follow us.” Aelfric and the former priests lead the trapped students and professor deeper into the Abyss, no one certain as to how they could escape. 

\--------------

  
  


The next morning, Byleth clings to the borrowed blanket she had been given, her eyes practically glued shut in stubborn refusal of recent events. She had prayed and prayed that everything that had happened, between Edelgard going missing, the fight with the Abyssians, and the collapse of their only way out was all a nightmare. She refused to acknowledge anyone that came to get her, not even caring for the stray rat that clambered across her the night before. None of this could’ve been real. 

She listens carefully as someone approaches the bed on which she is laying, and while before she would simply turn away, now she simply lacked the strength to move, or even speak. Instead, she waited for this person to stop next to her, and, although they are silent, she feels their hand as it brushes her hair soothingly. She slowly opens her eyes to find Claude kneeling next to her, his eyes just as hopeless as hers though a cheerful smile graced his face. 

“Are you awake?” Claude asks quietly, though there was no reason for it as Hilda and Bernadetta, who had shared the room with Byleth, have long since awoken and left. 

“I don’t want to be,” Byleth whispers, her eyes failing to produce tears as she had cried for most of the night before, “Not while we’re down here.” 

“Hey,” Claude says while bringing her eyes to face him, “We will get out of here, I know it, but we can’t leave without you.” 

Byleth loses herself in his eyes, the first sparks of comfort and hope filling her otherwise broken soul. Her students still needed her, and she knew it. She lets Claude help her into a sitting position, and once sat up, she quickly embraces Claude, holding him tightly as he holds her, as if he had anticipated this. 

Once they separate, Claude helps Byleth to her feet and they leave the room, winding down several corridors until they reach a makeshift meeting and dining room, Dimitri, Aelfric, and the Ashen Wolves all present. 

“Where’s Hubert?” Claude asks as he takes a seat. 

“Bernadetta started having another panic attack and Hilda wasn’t able to do anything to calm her,” Dimitri answers, “Hubert was able to, though, and she’s been glued to his side since.” 

“He also said it would be best if we left the planning to someone a little more qualified as a leader as opposed to him, in his words of course,” Aelfric adds, “He also said that you were the best strategist among everyone at the academy, Professor Byleth.” 

Byleth sighs deeply as she quietly says, “He’s not wrong, but I don’t even know where to begin.” 

“Well, for starters,” Yuri says, “We need to push further underground. The wells we have access to extend a fair way down and we noticed several openings along the sides when we dropped a candle down one. Water will be readily accessible on all floors as we progress.” 

“Meaning our only two issues is who will be going down, and what exactly will we bring as we descend,” Aelfric adds with a nod.

“Those should be non-issues,” Byleth answers quickly, “If we do push down, the best chance we have for everyone is not to send half down and leave half here. That would just mean more dead bodies. What we need to do is move everyone down, floor by floor, in the most efficient and safest way possible while also spending as little resources as possible to do so.” 

Constance, unimpressed by the idea, scoffs quietly and says, “And what, pray tell, makes you so certain it will work?” 

“I’m not speaking from experience, I’m speaking from instinct,” Byleth retorts, “I highly doubt anyone above us will be able to dig down to us fast enough to get everyone out of here alive. My gut is telling me that we need to go down ourselves and find a way out down there. Besides, whoever wants us trapped down here likely knows of another entrance further down if they’re after something.” 

Constance rolls her eyes dismissively, but Balthus looks at the former noblewoman and says, “It’s our best shot. We’re desperate right now, and we need to get out of here before we starve to death.” 

“But once we go down, there won’t be any coming back up,” Claude adds, “We need to figure out just what we have at our disposal right now before we start any expedition downward.” 

“Yes,” Yuri agrees, “I’ll get a few others to help so we can consolidate everything we have.” 

“And, Professor,” Aelfric adds, “I’d suggest talking with your students. They need a ray of hope right now, and you may very well be that ray they need to push forward.” 

“I will,” Byleth says as she stands, turning to Dimitri and Claude, “You two coming?” 

“Of course,” Claude says with a grin while Dimitri simply nods, following her out as she leaves. 

Aelfric looks at the Ashen Wolves and says, “You all need to help get the supplies we have down here consolidated, as Yuri suggested. Off with you, now.” He waves them off, and they all leave except Yuri. 

Aelfric pulls him close and whispers in his ear, “They are to know  _ nothing _ about the Chalice. Am I clear?” 

Yuri pulls away and whispers back, “Crystal,” before turning and leaving the room. 

\--------------

“Something’s not right with them,” Dimitri says once he, Claude and Byleth are out of earshot. 

“You picked up on that, too?” Claude asks as he looks at the prince. 

“I can’t help but feel like there is something else they are not telling us,” Dimitri answers, “What are they hiding down here?”

“I understand why you’re asking, but my concern is more about that Cardinal rather than the Ashen Wolves,” Byleth says, “Yesterday, when I had pinned him to the ground, I saw some kind of… recognition in his eyes.” 

“You think he recognized you?” Claude asks as he tilts his head. 

“I saw the same look from Rhea when I arrived at the monastery the first time,” Byleth adds, “The thing is, I felt more unnerved by Aelfric than I did Rhea at the time. For Rhea, her expression seemed more like relief while Aelfric's seemed like he saw a ghost.” 

“Maybe… you could talk to him about that?” Dimitri suggests, “Maybe he knows something about your past that you don’t, like who your mother is perhaps?”

‘Well, that’s the thing, I already know who my mother is,’ Byleth thinks to herself, remembering the times her father took her to see her mother’s grave, “I don’t know if he is willing to share that information with me, so I’d rather wait until we get out of here and ask my father about it.” 

“Whatever the case, we’d best keep an eye on him,” Claude says, “I know bad news when I see it, and there is something about him that’s just…” Claude raises his finger, but can’t quite think of the right words to describe the man. 

They arrive at a small room where the remaining students are waiting. Hubert is sitting on the seriously damaged couch with Bernadetta sleeping against his shoulder, her light snoring filling the otherwise quiet room. Hilda is curled in the corner, her eyes staring at the floor as tears flow freely down her cheeks. Dedue and Ashe are sat across from each other, having a whispered conversation as to avoid disturbing Bernadetta. And Linhardt, in an uncharacteristic manner, is looking over a few old maps of the Abyss itself on a table, plotting a few possible routes out. 

Linhardt looks up from the maps and says quietly, “Oh, professor, you’re finally awake.” 

“Reluctantly,” Byleth grumbles as she walks over to him, “I see you’ve been busy.” 

“Mostly,” Linhardt replies as he looks over the map again, “The Abyssians… can we call them that… anyway, they provided us with these maps they’ve made of the first six floors, and I’ve been plotting out possible routes for us to take to get out of here. Unfortunately, until a proper count of all of our supplies is made, we won’t be able to…” 

“Linhardt,” Byleth says, snapping the boy’s attention to her, “Calm. Down.” 

“What’s gotten into him?” Claude asks, “He’s never like this.” 

“He’s overstressed,” Hubert answers quietly, “He’s only ever been this productive if he’s under the pressure of a timeline or if his or another’s life is in danger. It’s one of the few good qualities he has.” 

“I’m not sure if I should say thank you or take offense to that,” Linhardt retorts while glaring at the other man. 

“Let’s save it for once we get out,” Byleth says, “Right now… we all need to have a talk.” 

Dedue and Ashe get up from their spot and walk over to the table, the former shaking Hilda gently to get her attention and join them. Hubert also shakes Bernadetta awake, and although she awakes with visible fear in her eyes, Hubert is able to keep her calm as they also walk over to the table. Once everyone is gathered, Byleth takes a deep breath before addressing her students. 

“I… understand that we are in a dire situation, buried under the monastery with no known exit. But I know we can escape. Aelfric mentioned that he found people under here before most of the upper entrances were documented, meaning they had to have gotten in here from another entrance. We may not know where this other entrance might be, but one of the other denizens must know of something we don’t.”

“You might be onto something there, professor,” Linhardt says, “I noticed that several of the denizens here have a few items that the Church would’ve otherwise not allowed within its walls. Unless they are keepsakes from their past, they must have either been excavated and restored from the rooms below us, or someone brought them in here without the Church’s knowledge.” 

“If that is the case, then why would the Cardinal allow it?” Hubert argues.

“Maybe he knows and simply refuses to tell the Church?” Dimitri theorizes, “Claude, Byleth and I have already agreed that there is something wrong with him, and we might need to confront him on it if the worst comes to pass.” 

“B-b-but,” Bernadetta stutters, “W-what about the… Ashen Wolves?” 

“They’re fine for right now,” Byleth reassures, “It’s only the Cardinal that we have an issue with.” 

Bernadetta nods at Byleth, accepting her answer as Claude asks, “Should we split up and start talking to the denizens? Maybe figure out if one of them knows of a lower exit?” 

“It is our best shot,” Ashe answers, “If we want to survive, we need as much information about this place as possible.” 

“Alright,” Byleth says while looking at the maps, “I’ll stay here with Linhardt and go over the maps with him. I want the rest of you to start talking with the denizens here to figure out if there is a probable exit below us. I’m confident you all can group yourselves without my guidance.” 

“Sounds fair to me,” Claude replies while tapping Dimitri’s shoulder, “Let’s see if the Ashen Wolves can shed a little light on this place.” 

“Hubert,” Dedue says as Dimitri and Claude walk out, “We need to talk, alone.” 

Hubert throws a wayward glance at Byleth, and she nods at him encouragingly, causing the young man to sigh and say, “Very well. I’ll follow you, then.” 

Bernadetta watches worriedly as Hubert and Dedue leave the room, and Hilda walks up next to the young girl and says, “Don’t worry. Ashe and I have got your back… um, right Ashe?” 

“Yeah,” Ashe replies calmly as he leads to two women out, “No worries.” 

Byleth sighs as she watches her students, the only ones keeping her sane right now, venture off. She sighs deeply as she mutters, “What I would give to have Sothis here right now.” 

“Yep,” Linhardt agrees as he looks over a map, “As annoying as she can be, I would have no issue with her assistance in this. Hell, with what she can do, she’d probably have an exit ready for us before the Church even needs to start excavating this place.”

Byleth throws a sideways glance at the boy before looking at the maps and asks, “Have the two of you spoken to each other at all beyond the initial introduction?”

“Several times,” Linhardt answers with a yawn, “For an all knowing Goddess, she can be quite the ignoramus at times.”

Byleth rolls her eyes at his observation, holding a similar sentiment about Sothis. She looks down at the map alongside the boy as they begin discussing possible routes of escape.

\--------------

Dimitri and Claude enter one of the storage rooms in the Abyss, finding Balthus and Yuri moving a few crates of preserved vegetables.

“Well, if it isn’t the prince and the nobleman,” Yuri says as he puts his crate on a table, “What brings you two here?”

“We have a few questions about this place,” Claude answers, “We are hoping you could answer them.” 

“I don’t have a problem,” Balthus answers as he lowers his crate and turns Yuri, “What about you?”

Yuri looks at Dimitri and Claude, sizing them up before saying, “These crates aren’t gonna move themselves. If you want answers, at least make yourselves useful.” 

Claude has no issue with Yuri’s demand, but Dimitri throws an irritated glare at him as they walk over to the pile of crates. 

“So…” Claude begins asking as he lifts a crate of dried meats, “What exactly goes on down here?” 

“First, the dried meats go over there,” Yuri directs, pointing at a few other crates across the room, “Second, to answer your question, Aelfric pretty much summed it up yesterday. This is a sanctuary for anyone who wants to disappear from Fodlan.”

Dimitri, as he lifts two crates at once, asks, “And…*grunt* what do you do down here?”

“I keep the peace,” Yuri answers as he moves a sack of potatoes, “I make sure no one gets into a fight down here. At least, I make sure whoever is fighting doesn’t drag anyone else into it or drag it out for too long.” 

“I’m Yuri’s peacekeeper,” says Balthus as he moves another sack of potatoes, “Most people down here recognize me as the ‘King of Grappling’, so if anyone fights without Yuri’s approval, I’m the one that stops it.”

Dimitri and Claude share a brief look at each other before telling Balthus, “There’s a merchant who’s better than you.” 

“A what?!” Balthus, now filled with indignation, exclaims, “Who could possibly be better than me?” 

“Oh no, here we go,” Yuri groans as he steps back.

“There is this merchant woman named Anna who has every single student, guard, and knight at the academy beat, even Dedue,” Dimitri says over exaggeratedly, “If you can beat her, then and only then can you call yourself the ‘King of Grappling’.”

“Is that so,” Balthus says with a grin, “Well, once we get out of here, I will just have to test this ‘Anna’ and prove myself better.” 

“Good luck,” Claude says, “Just a fair warning though, she does not fight fair.” 

“I’m not worried,” Balthus puffs out his chest, “I’ve dealt with low blows and weapons enough that I’m ready for anything.” 

Dimitri and Claude shrugs their shoulders as Yuri glares at the two of them, saying, “Why the Hell did you get him worked up like that?” 

“Simple,” Claude says confidently, “We gave him a reason to get out of here.” 

Yuri raises his eyebrow as he asks, “Excuse me?”

“You and the other denizens down here have spent most of your time away from the outside world,” Dimitri answers, “You all may not have a reason to get out. As you said, everyone down here came to disappear from Fodlan. All we did was give Balthus a reason to escape, a reason to live, if you will.” 

Yuri steps back, resting his chin in his hand as he whispers, “A reason to live….”

As he contemplates this, Aelfric enters the room and says, “Good news, we’ve finished… oh. Dimitri, Claude.” 

“Cardinal,” Dimitri and Claude say in unison.

“What brings the two of you here?” Aelfric asks as he approaches the two house leaders. 

“We had a few questions for Yuri and Balthus about this place,” Claude answers, “And Yuri asked us to help with the crates as he answered.”

“Oh great, actually,” Aelfric replies, “We need all the help we can get right now. As I was about to say, we’ve finished taking inventory of our weapons, and we should have enough for everyone to have at least a reasonable means of defending themselves.”

“Good,” Yuri says, “By tonight, we will be able to finalize our escape route and hopefully leave by tomorrow morning.” 

\--------------

Bernadetta, Ashe, and Hilda have, so far, had no luck with the denizens, most of them just brushing the students off while one particularly slimy denizen asked for a ‘service’ from the two young ladies, which just resulted in the guy getting a pair of black eyes, a broken nose, and left holding his crotch in pain as the trio walked away from him. 

“Well, we’ve been rebuked, ignored, cat called, and asked to give head to a guy so far,” Hilda says with immense irritation, “I swear, if I ever get asked that again, I will rip their dick off and shove it up their ass.” 

Bernadetta just looks at the girl timidly and says, “M-m-maybe when I’m not around.” Just the mental image alone is enough to cause Bernadetta to shiver with fright. 

“Actually, I would pay to see that happen,” Ashe says as he glares back at the broken man, “Some people deserve to have their manhood ripped from their body.” 

The three students enter what seems to be a makeshift common area, though it is largely vacated as most of the denizens have begun preparations for the move down. They notice that most of the people here are older, maybe in their mid to late sixties, and a few seemed to be sleeping a little too quietly.

Bernadetta shivers as she looks at what she assumes to be dead bodies forgotten by their peers as they approach one of the people, a woman shrouded in a cloak. 

“Excuse me,” Hilda asks, “I was hoping if you could-” Before she can finish speaking, the woman grabs Hilda’s hand and pulls her down, looking into the girl’s palm. “Ah! What are you-?”

“Shhhhh,” another Abyssian interrupts, “Let her work.” 

Hilda just watches as this woman starts tracing the lines in her palms, humming quietly as she notes various details. 

“Hmmmm,” the older woman starts speaking, her voice antient and cracked, “I see you’ve found love recently. What is her name?” 

“Uh…” Hilda’s eyes darted between the woman’s hidden face and her palm as a blush filled her face before answering, “M-Marianne?”

“Marianne,” the apparent soothsayer repeats, “She carries much sorrow and guilt with her, and fears for your life right now. But worry not, her fear will give way to determination, and a burning sword of justice will rest in her hands.”

“O...k…?” Hilda answers, trying to pull back but the soothsayer keeps her in place. 

“I also see… a shift within you, as well,” the older woman says, “Once, you were complacent, perhaps slothful. But now, because of your love, you’ve become discontent with yourself, and you’ve begun to change your soul for the better, driving to a future paved with gold and gemstones. Yes, I’m certain you will have a bright future.”

“You mean… we’re going to live?” Hilda asks, somewhat shocked by this revelation. 

“I’ll answer that later, right now, the boy,” The soothsayer lets Hilda go as she points to Ashe, “Come here.” 

Ashe approaches hesitantly, and allows the woman to grasp his hand as she looks into his palm, saying, “My, you’ve dealt with a lot recently, haven't you.”

Ashe nods silently, not wanting to speak of the events in Gaspard. The soothsayer continues anyway, “But, I see a ray of light guiding your path, and a shield protecting you and that light from danger. What are their names?” 

Ashe gulps nervously, and says, “Mercedes… and Jeritza?” 

The soothsayer looks up, and says, “The man’s name. What is it?” 

Ashe looks over at Hilda and Bernadetta before leaning close to the Soothsayer and whispers, “Emile.” 

The soothsayer looks back down at his palm, and says, “I see. He carries a dark past on his shoulders, but is devoted in his loyalty. You need not fear for the safety of your beloved, young one.” 

“Beloved?” Hilda asks, recoiling at this word, “Is there something you’re not telling us, Ashe?” 

“Shush,” the soothsayer orders, “There’s more, I can see another name, someone named… Victoria.”

“Victoria?” Ashe asks, “Who’s that?”

“I cannot say,” the soothsayer answers, “But they will play a major role in your future, I’m certain of it.”

The soothsayer lets Ashe go as she waves over Bernadetta. Although terrified of the woman, she hesitantly allows her to hold her palm, and the woman gasps in shock, “Oh my, you poor thing.”

The soothsayer traces, not her palm specifically, but a scar on her hand that she would often keep hidden from her friends, “That beast that calls himself your father, he doesn’t deserve such a title. But, if he weren’t your father, your future would be far… less.” 

“W-what do you mean?” Bernadetta asks quietly. 

“I see a place, no, Enbarr,” the soothsayer says, “You are in the Empire’s capital, speaking to…no, advising the Empress herself. She seems… happy. Odd…” The soothsayer goes quiet, whispering something inaudible to herself. Then, she looks back up and says, “I’m old. My gift… isn’t as accurate as it once was.” 

The woman looks back down and says, “I also see… a beastly man. One who stands beside you, my young bear.” 

“Young… b-b-bear?” 

“Indeed,” the soothsayer continues, “You both stand together, against the darkness of the world. Do not worry, child. Someday, you will find peace.” 

The soothsayer lets Bernadetta go, and says, “As for your question, yes. There is indeed an exit deep below us. It was how I originally came here before the red man arrived.”

“You mean Aelfric?” Hilda asks, relieved that their efforts will not be in vain.

“I refuse to call him that, not anymore,” the soothsayer says sharply, “He was an angel once, earned the respect and admiration from everyone here. Now, however, he has become clouded with a jealous passion, his lust and madness starting to overwhelm the kind man he once was. Beware the red man.”

The three students look at each other before Hilda says, “Um… thank you… for your help.”

As they leave, the soothsayer says, “Two more things. Be there for your Professor, for she needs you now more than ever. And… trust the flames, as they will guide you to the truth.”

\--------------

“That is all I can safely confirm about Edelgard and her original goals,” Hubert says to Dedue, his uneasiness hidden behind a veil of stoicism, “I can not explain her recent actions nor confirm if she had kidnapped Flayn. I only pray that, if she did indeed take her, it was for a good reason as opposed to fulfilling her original captor’s goals.” 

Dedue had his eyes closed, taking in Hubert’s explanation of recent events that involved the princess. Dedue had suspected Edelgard from the start and assumed that Hubert would be able to provide answers, perhaps even give him an outlet for his rage. Instead, Dedue felt marginal pity for the princess, almost empathizing with her as he, too, had lost his family. In a way, she had also suffered more than him. 

Dedue opens his eyes, looking at Hubert as he says quietly, “Thank you. I know now that my anger is misdirected, at least until we can find the princess and Flayn. If I don’t like the answer she gives, however, not even Dimitri will be able to hold me back.” 

Hubert nods nervously as he says, “I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that. The death of Edelgard would simply mean the end of the Empire as we know it.”

Dedue grunts in agreement before saying, “I do not wish for that to come to pass for you or your people, but that is my one warning to you. From here on, there will be nothing that you can say to defend the princess. Only she can explain herself once she is found.” 

“For once, I agree with you,” Hubert replies as they walk out of the room they were speaking in, “I suggest we return to Professor Byleth. She might have a plan ready.” 

They wind down the halls until they reach the sitting room, and find that Hilda, Bernadetta, and Ashe have already returned as Byleth and Linhardt are still looking at the maps presented to them. 

“Trust the flames…” Byleth whispers, piecing together what the phrase could mean. ‘Does it mean Edelgard?’

“Professor,” Dedue begins, “Do we have a plan ready?”

“We don’t have a plan yet,” Byleth answers with a sigh, “But we now know that there is an exit below us. I might take us a few days to reach it, it might take us weeks. It all depends on how quickly we can descend the Abyss until we reach it and how far down it really is.” 

“Did someone say there is an exit?” Claude says from the doorway with Dimitri behind him.

“A soothsayer did,” Ashe confirms, “She said it was how she originally came here.” 

“Good,” Dimitri says, “Knowing there is an exit makes our job a little less stressful.”

Byleth nods but points her hand at the map and says, “That is true, but, looking at these maps, we have a rough road ahead of us. There are traps, wild beasts, a few monsters, hidden passageways and stairways. I think I understand why they said it has been slow going for them while exploring this Abyss.”

“That doesn’t mean we won’t be able to get out of here,” Hilda says enthusiastically, “There is an exit for us. Besides, what says a few traps and monsters can stop us.” 

“Exactly,” Ashe says, “We’ve dealt with worse than that.” 

Bernadetta, Hubert, and Dedue remain silent, only nodding in agreement with Ashe’s words.

“We have a chance,” Linhardt adds, “Not a great chance, but enough to give us hope.” 

Byleth, feeling confident for the first time since the stairways collapsed, grins slightly as she says, “Very well then. Let’s finish plotting our initial course and get the Hell out of here.” 

\--------------

Aelfric closed the doors behind him, locking them tight as he rests his ears against the door, listening. Once satisfied, he turns back to face an altar, upon which rests the body of a young woman. He looks at her longingly, tears rolling down his face as he says, “My dear Sitri… a terrible event has come to pass.” He approaches the altar, kneeling in front of it, “We’ve become trapped down here, and our only hope is to descend further.” 

He prays quietly for a minute before approaching a long box, opening it to find it empty, as expected. “I am terribly sorry that I have to do this,” he says as he picks up Sitri’s body, “But this is necessary if we wish to bring you back.” He gently lowers her body into the box, and then approaches a separate, smaller altar where an ornate chalice rests. He gingerly picks up the chalice and lowers it into the same box, and closes the lid once he’s done, sealing it tight. He plants a soft kiss on the lid, and then leaves the room to retrieve a few denizens to help him move it. 

Unbeknownst to him, a hidden figure emerges from behind a pillar, and stares at the box in questions, saying with a gentle, evil laugh, “This will be easier than I thought.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooo.... the plot thickens... (Cheesy, I know) 
> 
> Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because I've got a gift in the works for all of you this Christmas, I just hope I can finish it in time.   
> Anyway, see y'all Friday.


	25. Cry of the Banshee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "On the first day of Christmas, Stormrunner gave to me, a brand new chapter for this story!"- All of you probably. Merry Christmas!!!
> 
> OK, now for the real lyrics:
> 
> "Can you hear the Banshee scream?"- Brocas Helm

A darkened stairwell lay barren, untouched for many years as dust and insect carcasses litter its steps. Suddenly, at the top of the stairs, a doorway opens, light finally gracing the unworn steps as a trio of people, Byleth, Aelfirc, and Yuri, peer down its dark passage. 

“This leads to the next floor?” Byleth asks, looking at the map that had been provided. 

“As far as we know, yes,” Yuri answers, “We know of nothing else beyond this floor except for three consistencies: Every floor has traps, we’ve encountered plenty of wild creatures on each floor, and some of the stairwells are hidden behind shelves, walls, or closets.” 

“We’d best keep moving,” Aelfric says, “The sooner we move down, the quicker we can escape.” 

“I’d say yes,” Byleth says, “But everyone’s exhausted. We’ve had to navigate six floors so far whilst carrying a lot of equipment down with us. We need to rest on this floor, which is well documented and safe for us to traverse, and avoid moving on to the next and risk getting attacked in the night by something we could not prepare for.”

“She’s right, Cardinal,” Yuri says, “There is no need to push ourselves so hard that we die before we even reach the exit.” 

Aelfric lets out a loud sigh as he says, “In that case, we’ll set up camp away from the stairs. Us opening this door alone is bound to attract something unpleasant, or worse.” 

“I couldn’t agree more,” Byleth says as Yuri closes the door. The trio leave the small room and close the bookshelf that leads to it, and Byleth addresses her gathered students and a few of the denizens, “We’re camping here for the night, but I want everyone to stay away from the door just in case we drew the attention of something from down there.”

“Yes ma’am,” her students replied together as the denizens grunt in acknowledgement. 

As everyone disperses out of the room, Yuri grabs Byleth’s arm and says, “We need to talk for a minute.” 

Byleth is initially taken aback by Yuri’s abruptness, but quietly nods her head as Aelfric follows the denizens out. “What do you need?” She asks. 

“I already discussed this with the other Ashen Wolves before we started descending, but we will be scouting ahead tomorrow and into the foreseeable future,” Yuri says, “I just wanted to let you know before we started.” 

Byleth gets an incredulous look and says, “But… what if something happens to you?” 

“If you can keep up, it won’t be a problem,” Yuri answers, “Besides, I and the other Wolves have been down here for some time now, and we know what to expect in terms of traps and creatures. I doubt your students would last an hour unattended down there.” 

“Are you saying my students are no good?” Byleth asks, insulted by Yuri’s casual observations. 

“No,” Yuri counters, “If I recall, you and your students beat us a few days ago. All I’m saying is that they simply won’t be prepared for what is below us while I and the other Wolves are.” 

Byleth sighs heavily, and says, “I’ll take your word for it, and I won’t stop you from going down. If anything happens, though…”

“We already understand the risks,” Yuri says, “Just follow the path we make, and I can assure you that everyone will make it out alive.” 

“Ok,” Byleth nods, “Will Aelfric join you?” 

“He’ll stay with you,” Yuri says as he walks to the door, “I’d rather you keep an eye on him than have him keep an eye on us.” Yuri steps out, leaving Byleth alone to contemplate his words. 

\--------------

Dimitri and Dedue settle down in a disused, empty room, unpacking their bags as they sort their equipment. 

“What I would give for a bath,” Dimitri whispers as he lays on his makeshift cot.. 

“You and me both,” Ashe says as he enters the room with Claude, Hubert and Linhardt behind him. 

“Maybe we can pull enough water from the wells to make a bath,” Claude suggests. 

“That would take too long,” Linhardt says with a sigh, “Besides, down here, it would just be a waste.” 

“Or maybe there’s a bath or two below us,” Claude theorizes, only for Linhardt to groan tiredly.

“Now that’s just wishful thinking,” Hubert says as he rolls out his cot, “I’ll be happy to just get out of here alive.” 

Claude just shakes his head at everyone’s pessimism as he settles down as well. They all largely stay silent, eating their rations and only acknowledging Byleth when she came to briefly check on them before she returned to the room she, Hilda, and Bernadetta were sharing. As the floor grew quieter as the remaining denizens settled down outside, Dimitri asked no one in particular, “I wonder what everyone above us is doing right now?” 

“Who knows,” Ashe answers, “Best guess: they’re probably digging through the rubble right now to try and get to us, but the way all the stairs collapsed… I doubt they’d be able to reach us at all.” 

“Wouldn’t be surprised if they used this to cover up Edelgard’s disappearance,” Claude says, “She may have been missing for almost two weeks now, but most of Fodlan doesn’t know that. All they will likely know by now is that Garreg Mach was attacked by someone, and several students, among them all three house leaders, have gone missing.” 

“It would certainly be convincing enough,” Hubert agrees, though he keeps his voice quiet as he says, “But that is only if we find her down here.” 

“And what happens if we do find her?” Dedue asks. 

“Personally,” Linhardt says as he lays down, “If she can explain herself thoroughly and give us a good reason not to detain or subdue her once she is found, I say we help her until we can get out of here, because at this point, if she did indeed take Flayn, the only ones she’d need to apologize to is Seteth and Lady Rhea.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Claude says, “Remember what Byleth told us about her lost voice a few days ago?” 

Linhardt looks away, and knows what Claude is referring to as he says, “Oh yeah, that did happen.” 

“Wait, what happened?” Ashe asks, looking incredulously between the two men. 

Claude sighs as he explains, “Byleth told us that the reason why her voice sounded messed up was because she and Rhea had a fight with each other. She told us that Rhea had attempted to force John to spy on Anna, and threatened to relieve John if he refused.” 

Most of the other students gasp at this, though Hubert remains quiet as he whispers, “Why am I not surprised.” 

“Why the Hell would Rhea do that?” Dimitri nearly shouts, rage brewing within, “She had no reason to just force him t-”

“Byleth already let her know of her disapproval,” Claude assures, trying to calm the prince down, “I honestly don’t know exactly what went down, but Byleth had expressed no interest in confronting her again until Flayn and Edelgard can be found.” 

Dedue calmly rests his hand on Dimitri’s shoulder, calming him down as he lets go of the tension within himself. “We will get answers,” Dedue promises, “Once we find them, they will tell us everything.” 

Linhardt yawns loudly as he says, “For now, though, we need to get some sleep. I don't know what to expect from the next few floors, but we need to be awake and alert if we hope to stand a chance.” 

“In that case, practice what you preach,” Hubert says as he lays on his cot, sleep quickly taking him as Linhardt glares at the man. 

“I second that,” Ashe says as he also lays down while looking at Linhardt, “What you said, not Hubert.” 

“Thanks,” Linhardt replies half heartedly, sleep overtaking him as well. 

“Tomorrow is sure to be fun,” Claude says, “Goodnight.” 

\--------------

_ Dimitri found himself in an unfamiliar field of roses, sunflowers, and blue tulips, the horizon free of any distinct structures or tree lines. He looked all around, seeing nothing but the flowers. He closed his eyes and pointed in a random direction, and then proceeded to follow that direction.  _

_ As he walked, he noticed that the horizon had given way to a building, one unfamiliar to him. The only striking features he could distinguish were large red banners with a black, two headed eagle emblazoned on each of them. “The emblem of the Empire,” he says to himself, “This must be Enbarr’s palace. Why am I seeing it, though? I’ve never been to Enbarr.”  _

_ He continues his approach to the palace, reaching the gate after a lengthy walk. He manages to open the gate, but instead of an atrium or even a foyer, he is greeted by a set of stairs leading down. Seeing no other alternative, he cautiously descends the steps, keeping his ears open as he looks down into the darkened depths. As he walks, he swears he can hear a distant echo of an instrument, as if beckoning him closer.  _

_ His eyes start to adjust to the darkness, the stairs ending at an open landing. Once his foot touches the floor, a distant, ghostly voice seems to call out, stopping him in place… _

__ **_“Lovers of the dark… step into the light…_ **

**_Can you hear the Banshee…_ **

**_Can you hear the Banshee…_ **

**_Scream………….”_ **

**** _ Silence. Dimitri looks around himself, trying to see anything as the darkness seems to grow more oppressive, as if trying to consume him. Then, he hears her, a voice he hasn’t heard in years. _

_ “Help me…” the voice cries meekly, calling from right in front of Dimitri. _

_ “El?” Dimitri asks the darkness, pushing his way forward.  _

_ “Help me…” she calls again, her voice sounding closer.  _

_ Then, the darkness opens up, revealing the girl he once knew, standing with her head bowed, a pool of tears at her feet as she holds her arms together across her chest. She looks up, her pale violet eyes pleading as she whispers, “Help me… remember… me…”  _

_ Suddenly, shadowy hands reach out of the darkness, restraining El and pulling her into the darkness as Dimitri stands still, watching as she vanishes from his sight.  _

\--------------

Dimitri springs up from his cot, gasping for breath as he looks around himself. 

“Your highness,” Dedue says from next to him, causing the poor prince to jump away from the larger man. Dedue gently grabs Dimitri’s shoulder and says, “Calm down, it was just a dream.”

As Dimitri comes to his senses, he notices that everyone else was already awake and packing for the next leg of the journey down. 

“Are you alright, Dimitri?” Claude asks, walking over to the prince. 

Dimitri takes a few deep breaths as he says, “I… *huff* I will be.” Dimitri shakes his head as he runs his hand through his hair. 

“Does… this happen frequently?” Linhardt asks, walking over to Dimitri as well. 

Dimitri quietly nods his head and says, “Almost every night it’s another night terror.” 

“That’s not good,” Linhardt says as he looks into Dimitri’s eyes, examining them, “Given how bloodshot your eyes are as well as the bags under them, I’d say you’ve been suffering from sleep deprivation for almost a few years now. I mean, we all already knew you don’t get enough sleep, but I never realized just how bad it is.”

“Are you sure you can keep moving?” Claude asks as Dimitri starts picking himself up.

“I should be fine,” Dimitri answers as he rubs his eyes, “Just.. need to try and get some better sleep later.” 

Linhardt shakes his head and says, “If we were able to stay put for a few days, I’d have you sleeping as much as possible, just to undo some of the damage already done. Unfortunately, we have to keep moving. Once we get out, I advise talking to Manuela and Hanneman about taking a few days off to get as much rest as you can under their supervision and perhaps help you work through your nightmares as they happen.” 

“Would that really work?” Dimitri asks as he starts rolling his cot. 

“It should,” Linhardt says, “But it’s not as straightforward as it seems. Sometimes a certain event in life can cause the night terrors to just vanish. Hell, even being in close proximity to something or someone you care about can bring the night terrors down to a manageable level.” 

“Yeah, I can speak from experience on that,” Ashe says, “When my parents died, it was just myself, by brother Richard, and my sister Lily. I remember sleeping alone some nights while Richard and Lily hid across town, and I would just get nightmare after nightmare about them. Then, once we reunited after I scavenged what I could for a few days, the nightmares would just stop.”

“Have they come back since?” Dimitri asks. 

“They did come back the day after we faced Lonato, but after I verified that my siblings were ok, they haven’t haunted me since.” 

“And that’s a good thing,” Linhardt says immediately, “The sooner you can find a comfort object, Dimitri, the sooner your night terrors will cease.” 

Dimitri nods at Linhardt as he finishes packing his bag, but then says, “Before that, though, I need to see Byleth. I’ll need Claude with me as well.” 

“Ok?” Claude says, concern building, “What do we need to talk to her about?” 

“I’ll explain once we get to her,” Dimitri answers, leading his fellow house leader out of the room and leaving their confused classmates behind.

\--------------

Byleth and Claude are listening intently to Dimitri as he describes his dream from last night, their eyes showing curious concern as he speaks. 

“By the end, she just got taken by some kind of shadow, and then I awoke,” Dimitri finishes, a few tears rolling down his face. 

“Well… I never would’ve guessed you and Edelgard knew each other before,” Claude observes, “Certainly explains your mood the day after she told you the truth.”

Byleth kept silent, mulling over the details in her head. ‘Could there be a chance that she can remember her past? I wonder if Sothis has something to do with this. Dimitri did mention a song playing, one I happen to be familiar with.’

“My advice,” Byleth says, “Just talk to her. Do what you can to bury the hatchet with her  _ if  _ she’s willing to cooperate when we find her. Beyond that, I’m afraid this is your battle to fight.”

“Figures,” Dimitri whispers, looking away as his mood sours. 

“At this point, I think we just need to focus on getting out of here,” Claude says, “I remember hearing yesterday that the Ashen Wolves are ahead of us now?”

“Yes, they left earlier,” Byleth confirms, “All Yuri said was to follow the path they make, and we’ll be fine.”

Claude just tiles his head and asks, “And… how will we know what path to take” 

\--------------

The students, Denizens and Byleth are greeted by the sight of a trap triggered by the Ashen Wolves, a swinging ax buried into the wall, and further beyond they see a deceased, unidentifiable creature half burned, half slaughtered on the ground, it’s crispy entrails pointing down a hall that lead to another triggered trap. 

“Ah,” Claude says nauseously, “That’s how.”

Byelth sighs loudly as she groans, “I need to have a word with them.” 

The reactions of her other students varied: Dedue and Dimitri showed mild indifference though visible discomfort graced their faces, Bernadetta had to follow Linhardt into another room as he started dry heaving, Hilda had been caught by Hubert as she fainted while Ashe just looked away. 

“You know,” Claude muses as they step past the poor creature, “This will sound disgusting, but that is a terrible waste of meat.”

“Don’t say that,” Linhardt retorts while looking in any direction but the creature, “I damn near lost my breakfast over that thing.”

Bernadetta’s eyes were locked with the creature as she says, “I-I just hope its death was quick.”

Hubert looked at the claw marks on the ground and said, “Unlikely given the marks it left on the ground. It must’ve struggled against whatever spell burned it.” 

“Can we stop talking about the dead thing?!” Byleth snaps, causing her students to jump slightly, “Yes, it’s dead, and yes, it went out in a terrible manner. Let’s just move on and focus on getting out of here.”

She and her students, along with the denizens that followed them, remained silent for a while until they reached another set of stairs leading down, a note left on the door. 

‘Professor,’ the note says, ‘We will clear out the next floor and the floor beyond that, but we ask that you all stop on the next floor for tonight. We’ve started encountering a few magic traps as well as a few elemental golems, so it might take us a little longer to clear everything out before you can continue. Besides that, you all will be fine. From, Balthus and the Ashen Wolves.’

“Joy,” Byleth whispers under her breath, turning to everyone gathered and saying, “We will move down to the next floor, then we will camp for the night. The Ashen Wolves are making progress, but they’ve encountered magic traps and a few new creatures down here that will take longer to deal with.”

“Yay,” Hilda, now awake, exclaims half heartedly, “Progress is progress, so let’s not keep them waiting.” 

As such, the migrating entourage descended down the stairs, finding a similar path as before, until they reached another set of stairs with another note. 

‘Professor’ it says, ‘On the back of this note is a list of rooms that we verified as safe to sleep in for tonight. We’ll find another room further down to stay in, so don’t hold your breath if we don’t come up any time soon. Besides that, you all should be good. From, the Ashen Wolves.’

Byelth flips the note over to find the map listing the safe rooms, as well as the location of two of the wells. “Ok,” she says to everyone around her, “I’ve got a list of rooms we can use tonight, so if you have any preference as to who you want to share one with, speak up now.”

Byleth then spends about half an hour assigning rooms and quelling disputes before everyone is satisfied, and she retires to a room assigned for herself and her students, ‘It’s not ideal putting all the guys and girls in the same room, but we have no choice on this floor. 

One by one, each of her students entered the room and set up their cots on the floor, the boys staying to the left and center of the room, the girls staying to the right. ‘

“You know, Teach,” Claude says as she rests against the wall, “I was expecting today to be a little more… eventful than it was.” 

“Be careful what you wish for, Claude,” Linhardt says, “Something might just happen now because you said that.” 

Claude shrugs his shoulders and says, “Still, better than nothing happening at all.”

The students start eating their rations in silence, listening as the Abyssians walk up and down the hallway, likely collecting water from one of the wells, when Dimitri says, “I can’t help but feel like that the Ashen Wolves weren’t being terribly honest about the animal population down here.”

“Yeah,” Ashe agrees, “I feel like we should've encountered something down here ourselves.” 

“Maybe they're just thorough?” Claude suggests.

“We might find out tonight if they were thorough or not,” Hubert says, “What says the creatures down here aren’t nocturnal.” 

“He has a point,” Hilda adds, “It could also be that we just scared them all away with just how many of us are down here.” 

“Even then, I feel like something should’ve had at least peaked around a corner once or twice while we were marching,” Byleth counters, “Something just isn’t sitting right with me about all this.” 

“We might just be getting paranoid then,” Linhardt says, “We’re tired and it’s been uneventful today. I’d say we get some sleep before we face tomorrow.” 

“Yeah,” Byleth nods as she lays on her cot, her students doing the same as they all drift off to sleep. 

\--------------

Ashe slips out of the room unheard, closing the door quietly as he holds a candle in his left hand. ‘I hope I didn’t wake them.’ He thinks silently, creeping down the hall towards one of the wells. 

He reaches the well with little issue, and quietly lowers the bucket. ‘Just need to get a little water for my canteen, and I’ll be good.” 

After a few minutes, he lifts the bucket back up, now filled halfway with water as he dunks his canteen into the water. He lifts the canteen out and caps it before drinking the rest of the water from the bucket in one go. After wiping his face, he turns to leave the well room when he sees another light in the hallway, approaching rapidly from the left. He hides behind the door frame, out of sight as the light grows brighter. Suddenly, the light shifts and whoever is carrying the torch falls to the ground, likely tripping over themselves as they run. Ashe peaks out and finds one of the Ashen Wolves laying on the ground and trying to get up. 

“Hapi?” Ashe asks, causing the woman to gasp in shock before her face scrunches up for a brief moment, as if trying to hold in a sigh. 

She lets her breath out slowly as she says, “We need help.” 

\--------------

“Help?” Byleth asks, she and her students slowly waking up, “What happened?” 

“I can’t explain,” Hapi answers, “We need to get back to them before it’s too late.” 

“*Yawn*… Just how far down are your friends?” Linhardt asks, rolling his cot and packing his bag as everyone else does the same. 

“Three floors,” Hapi confirms, “But we have to move quickly. Follow me.” 

Hapi runs out of the room, with Byleth and her students following behind while Byleth scribbles a quick note to leave for Aelfric. They reach the stairs leading down, and Byleth leaves the note on the ground in front of them. They descend quickly, Bernadetta tripping at the bottom and almost falling were it not for Dedue and Hubert catching her at the last second. 

“Hapi!” Byleth calls ahead, “Slow down. We can barely keep up!” 

Hapi stops and waits for Byleth to catch up, and says, “I’m sorry, but we need to get to them.” 

“I understand that,” Byleth assures as her students stop to catch their breaths, “But we can get lost down here. You're fast, I’ll say that, but do slow down for us at least.” 

“I will,” Hapi says as she leads the entourage further into this floor. They find and descend another set of stairs, but once they reach the bottom, they can hear the distant echoes of steel clashing against steel. 

“Uh oh,” Ashe says as he listens to the sounds, “We may have a fight to look forward to.” 

“Hapi, do you know what we’re up against,” Byleth asks as they quicken their pace and draw their weapons.

Hapi shakes her head and answers, “No. They just came out of nowhere and started attacking us. Yuri sent me up to get help… but I think I remember one of them wearing… a mask.” 

“What kind of mask?” Hubert asks immediately, looking at the woman. 

“Um… it looked like a bird’s beak… something close to it at least,” Hapi answers, looking at the ground in concentrated thought. 

‘Bird’s beak… that’s like a plague mask…’ Byleth thinks to herself, her grip on her sword tightening, “We need to move, now!” Everyone breaks into a full sprint as the unmistakable cry of someone getting injured graced their ears. They find the next set of stairs, the sounds of the battle seemingly winding down as they approach. ‘Please don’t let us be too late.’

They descend quickly, Hubert allowing a spell to brew in his hands as Bernadetta notches an arrow, the remainder of the students bringing their weapons to bear. Then, all at once they emerge into a much larger room, almost like a long chapel, an altar sitting at the far end where a man wearing a plague doctor’s mask stands in front of it. On either side of this man stands a pair of gremory, calmly observing the aftermath of this battle. Between them and the students stands a large group of heavily armored soldiers, glaring at the entrance as Hapi, Byleth and her students emerge. But none of this is what shocked Byleth. 

In front of them, at the foot of the stairwell, are the three remaining Ashen Wolves. Yuri is on one knee, resting his head on the pommel of his sword and likely glaring at the masked man at the altar. Beside the stairwell, Constance rests against the wall, exhaustion having overtaken her as she is barely conscious. And Balthus lay prone next to Yuri, slowly struggling to get up. But in front of them both knelt one last person, facing the soldiers as they leaned against their shield, an ax resting by their side. Their armor is black, with sheets of black cloth, trimmed with red, concealing their body. Their pauldrons have bright red feathers sprouting out as a lengthy red plume extends down from their helmet. The person turns their head, looking back at the students, revealing a red and white mask. 

Dimitri and Hubert gasp in shock, the former taking a step back as Byleth’s eyes widen. ‘Edelgard… how the Hell-’ 

Byleth’s thoughts are interrupted by the masked man at the altar, exclaiming, “Well, if this isn’t a pleasant surprise!” 

Byleth’s eyes snap to the masked man, her shock giving way to pure, unfiltered rage. She can feel the Sword of the Creator start burning in her hands as she steps forward, saying, “You’ve made a grave mistake coming here.” 

The masked man tilts his head, stepping away from the altar as he sizes Byleth up, “My, never would’ve imagined someone like you would get trapped down here. Tell me, how does it feel not needing to dig a grave for yourself, professor Byleth?” 

While her students take a fearful step back, Byleth’s determination is unaffected, She steps past a disguised Edelgard, gently patting her shoulder as she glares at everyone gathered before her. “If you know so much about me, then you should know just how powerful I really am.” 

“Well, before you put on a show for us, allow me to introduce myself,” the man summons a black beast, this time one in the shape of a demonic dragon as he declares, “I am Odesse, and my compatriots, Pittacus and Bias, and I aren’t leaving until we have the traitor and her ward in our possession.”

“Like Hell I’m letting you take either!” Byleth allows the Sword of the Creator to roar with power, glowing brightly as she says, “I’ve spent way too long getting this far. If you think that you can undo what I’ve already accomplished, then I’ll just have to remind you why I am the ‘Ashen Demon!’”

“Yeah! You go Byleth!” Byleth calmly closes her eyes for a brief moment as she throws a disapproving glare at Sothis, who happens to be standing off to the side while giving Byleth a double thumbs up. 

Byleth subtly tilts her head, and Sothis shoots back into her head as the Goddess says, “Look, I know this is bad, but I can-”

“Sothis, shut up,” Byleth whispers quietly as her students step next to her. Dedue rests his ax on his shoulder as he glares at the gathered soldiers; Ashe deftly twirls his lance before standing in a battle ready position; Hilda stretches her back, winking subtly at the soldiers as their will falters; Bernadetta, after taking several large breaths, takes her place next to Hubert as his magic cackles maniacally in his hands; Claude notches an arrow as he and Dimitri stand on either side of Byleth; and Edelgard, still disguised and limping slightly, steps next to Dimitri. Linhardt remains behind them all as he tends to the Ashen Wolve’s injuries. 

Dimitri leans towards Edelgard and whispers quietly but harshly into her ear, “What the Hell have you been doing?” 

“I’ll explain once they,” she nods at the Odesse’s soldiers as she speaks with her distorted voice, “Have been dealt with.” 

“At least tell me Flayn is safe,” Dimitri requests. 

“She’s behind us, in the corner,” Edelgrad answers, “As I said, I’ll explain once we’re done.” 

“Ok then,” Odesse says suddenly, “This is your choice. I can’t imagine any of you would want to starve to death after all. Men, eliminate them!”

The soldiers let out a war cry as they begin their approach, but Sothis says, “Ok. I’ve got millions of songs at the ready. Just take your pick and we can get ass kicking!” 

Byleth allows a subtle grin on her face as she says, “You know exactly what song we need.” 

“Alrighty,” Sothis declares, “One [banshee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVU6o7xg_Lo), coming right up!” 

\--------------

Odesse tilts his head as a bassy, phantom instrument fills the air, causing his soldiers to pause for a moment. He scans the room briefly until he spots the crest socket of the Sword of the Creator glowing bright green. ‘Curious… What do we have here?’ 

As a second instrument, one more treble in tone, joins the first, he notices a pale green aura starting to surround most of the students and, quite worryingly, the Ashen Wolves. Three in particular, the tall man with white hair, the young boy with powder blue hair, and Hubert, the only one he knew by name, don’t seem to have this aura surrounding them. Even the Emperor of Flames, the traitorous princess, had this aura surround her, glowing brighter than anyone else besides the Professor. 

However, Odesse notices another aura starting to glow just in the corner on the far side of the room, hidden behind some stone rubble, and he tilts his head in contemplation. 

“There!” Pittacus suddenly exclaims, “The Nabatean!”

“In the corner,” Bias confirms, “We must get to-”

“Hold off,” Odesse orders as he pulls a quill, a small pot of ink and a notebook out from under his cloak, “This is more interesting.” 

A series of drums join the first two instruments, and the students affected by the auras enter a low stance, preparing to charge. Behind them, the Ashen Wolves and the last student join the battle line formed, having recovered far too quickly to be natural. 

“Pittacus, Bias,” Odesse says, drawing the two gremories' attention, “Stay away from the battle. I want to see what happens. Once I’m satisfied, we’ll leave.” 

“But what of the Nabatean?” Pittacus asks, stepping back. 

“She can be captured another day,” Odesse reassures his compatriots, “Besides, if our second plan works out well enough, we might not need to capture her. What I need the two of you to do is to just watch and remember every detail that this battle will produce.” 

The gremories share a brief look with each other before their eyes return to the battle about to unfold, the first lyrics of this song booming as the student’s and their professor charge forward. 

\--------------

**“Lovers of the dark, step into the light…”**

Byleth charges forward, the Sword of the Creator unhinging its whip like blade as it trails behind her. She swings it wide, allowing the whip to reach far ahead as it clashes against the armored soldiers in front of her, causing most of them to stagger. With a quick flick of her wrists, the blade reforms into a sword, and she swiftly brings it down onto the unfortunate soldier's head, crushing his helm and driving into his skull. Claude suddenly jumps over her and sends a pair of arrows into the chests of the other two soldiers she staggered, killing them instantly. Switching his grip on his bow, he swings it upward, catching the chin of a swordsman as Byleth unhinges her Sword and sends the blade’s whip around Claude. He ducks under the blade as it tears the swordsman’s head off his shoulders, leaving his twitching corps to fall to the ground. 

“Well, I see the spell has developed quite well indeed,” Sothis observes, “I doubt either of you would’ve been able to pull that off without at least one of you suffering some form of injury without it.” 

“Now is not the time,” Byleth growls as she brings her sword up to block an errant axman’s attack, “Just keep the music going for us.” 

“Hmpf, spoil-sport,” Sothis grumbles as she watches the battle unfold. 

_ Nearby… _

__ “On your left!” Ashe shouts at Dedue. The larger man sidesteps out of Ashe’s way as he thrusts his lance into a soldier’s heart. As Ashe withdraws his lance, he notices Dedue’s attention drawn to a few soldiers who had snuck away from the battle and are approaching something glowing in the corner. 

“Ashe, follow me,” Dedue says, not waiting for a response as he runs over to the corner, catching the soldiers off guard. 

“Damn it,” One soldier says as he points to a mage, “You get the Nabatean, we’ll handle the-'' Before he can finish, an arrow whizzes by and strikes the mage in question between his eyes. The soldier looks back to the battle only for his neck to get snapped by Dedue as Ashe knocks another soldier to the ground and drives his dagger into his throat. 

Ashe takes a calming breath as he stands over the man before looking back at Bernadetta, who had sent the arrow at the mage, and nods at her in thanks. She nods back before her attention returns to the unfolding battle. 

Ashe looks back at Dedue and sees the man walk over to the corner. He watches as Dedue looks behind the corner, only to see the normally stoic man’s face morph into pure shock. Confused, Ashe also walks over to the corner, and gasps when he sees the huddled figure of Flayn, her head buried under her hands as she shivers fearfully. 

Dedue and Ashe share a look before the larger man whispers, “We’d best stay here and keep her safe,” to which Ashe nods calmly as he turns back to face the battle while Dedue kneels down to comfort Flayn. 

_ Nearby… _

‘Shit,’ Edegard thinks to herself as she and Hilda stand back to back as they are surrounded by seven soldiers, ‘Even with that Rhythm spell, I don’t think I can take them.’ She curses as she shifts her weight off her sprained ankle, only for her broken ribs to start protesting.

“Say, uh… whoever you are,” Hilda says, oblivious to who’s under the mask and armor, “Think we can take them?” 

Edelgard looks back briefly at Hilda, the girl smirking confidently as she holds her ax in front of her. Edelgard says nothing and simply nods at Hilda as she raises her shield and enters a low stance, taking as much weight off her sprained ankle as possible and pivoting her body to avoid irritating her ribs. ‘I can’t stop yet. Not until they’re gone.’ 

Before the soldiers can charge, however, a blackened fireball is hurled at one of the men, followed by a black spell that explodes once it contacts another soldier. With the remaining soldiers distracted, Hilda and Edelgard make their move, swiftly decapitating two soldiers with their axes as a separate fireball conflagrates a separate soldier. The remaining two soldiers, knowing they now didn’t stand a chance, backed off in an attempt to retreat, only for a beastly man, screaming with passion, to wrap his arms around their necks and pulling with all his might. He lands flat on his back and drives the soldiers heads into the ground with a satisfying wet smack, killing the soldiers instantly. 

Balthus stands up to admire his handy work as Hilda breathes a sigh of relief, saying, “You have no idea just how close I was to giving up there.” 

“You and me both,” Edelgard’s disguised voice says, causing Hilda to blush with embarrassment slightly as she scratches the back of her head. 

Constance and Hubert walk up to them, the former saying, “I must say, if not for us, your injuries would surely have overwhelmed you in the scuffle.”

“And your help is very much appreciated,” Hilda says before facing Edelgard, “But, since it’s quiet now, just who are you anyway?” 

Edelgard considers her options, and just says, “I’ll tell you once the battle is over. I’d rather ensure we are no longer in danger before I share anything.” 

“Fair enough,” Hilda hefts her ax and rests it on her shoulder and says, “Let's find Linhardt and get you fixed up, alright?” 

Edelgard nods appreciatively at Hilda and tosses a brief glance at Hubert, who simply nodded at her in response, before following the young girl. 

_ Nearby… _

__ Dimitri stands before the black beast, Yuri at his left and Hapi at his right, his crest burning with power. Normally, he would be completely engulfed in a blood-rage, but thanks to the spell from the Sword of the Creator, it had been contained early in the battle, and Dimitri’s performance in battle changed as a result. Usually he’d torment his opponents before ending them brutally, but now his kills were quick, clean, and merciful. 

“Say prince,” Yuri says, “Have any ideas on how to deal with this thing?” 

Dimitri bites his lip, thinking back to the battle in the tower. He had watched as every attack connected with the black beast there, and remembered just how little damage they had done to it with ordinary weapons. Worse still, even Thunderbrand, a Holy Relic, couldn’t leave a lasting scratch on the damnable beast, and their only solution was to go for its eyes. 

“Silver,” someone says from behind them. Dimitri turns to find Edelgard, still disguised with her armor, with Hilda and Linhardt in tow as she continues, “Silver can damage it easily, with or without the spell the professor is casting.” 

“The spell is coming from the sword actually,” Linhardt corrects, “I saw it happen a few weeks ago in the Gautier region.”

“That doesn’t matter, what matters is that it can be damaged,” Yuri begins with an upbeat tone, before it sours as he says, “Oh yeah, that’s right. We don’t have any silver weapons.” 

“Well what do we do-” Hapi begins, only for Edelgard to interrupt. 

“I do,” she says, drawing her dagger from under her coat, Dimitri staring at the familiar blade as memories of their childhood together play in his mind. 

“A silver dagger,” Hilda whispers with wonder in her eyes, “Where’d you get that?” 

Edelgard doesn’t answer, choosing to remain silent as she walks up to the back beast. “I doubt I can fight this thing alone. I’ll need a few people to help me distract it.” 

“We may not have that luxury,” Linhardt says as a group of soldiers approach from either side of the beast. 

Dimitri curses quietly as he readies his lance, and says, “We can fight them, but what about-” 

Before he can finish, Hapi says, “Actually, I might be able help.” She takes a few steps back, sucks in a small mouthful of air, and sighs. 

Dimitri and his classmates tilt their heads at her, both curious and disturbed by what she did. 

“And… you sighing helps us how?” Hilda asks incredulously. 

“Just give it a minute,” Yuri answers, “We’re underground, remember?” 

Hilda gets a confused looks as she asks, “What does that have to do wit-” 

Suddenly, a low rumble is felt under their feet, bringing the battle around them to a stop. 

“Uh… what the hell is happening?” Claude calls from nearby, he and Byleth holding each other’s shoulders for support. 

Hapi looks back at the stairway leading up as a herd of wild, albino beasts charge down, entering the room and rumbling towards the battle lines. They seemingly ignore the students as they barrel into the soldiers, catching them off guard and forcing them to fight for their lives against a new foe. 

Dimitri just shakes his head and forces himself to ignore the new battle erupting around him as he focuses on the black beast before him. The beast snarls as it lets loose an unholy roar, forcing Dimitri to take a knee as the sound pummels his ears. Once the roar stops, he notices something. The music that had been playing since the beginning of the battle had stopped, and another [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9FmOc0ofGc&list=PLvJRb5iBmBHJ-sBfkSvmDXmUOejBcSDRx&index=3) had begun. ‘Since when did the song change?’ 

This new one had another bassy opening, this time slower and with drums accompanying it. Dimitri also noticed that his and Edelgard’s aura were the only ones that remained; everyone else's had dissipated. 

“Wait, this happened last time,” Linhardt notices, “The last song was controlled, but this one must be driven by something else.” 

“But by what though?” Hilda asks. 

“Emotion,” Edelgard whispers, the song going silent for a brief moment before the instruments return with force, and she sprints ahead as Dimitri, his mind refocused, joins her. 

_ Nearby... _

**“There’s no reason, there’s no compromise…”**

“Fascinating,” Sothis whispers as she watches the unfolding battle with the black beast, Edelgard slinging under the beast and cutting its belly as Dimitri jumps up and impales his lance into the beast snout, causing it to roar in pain. “The song changed on its own because their emotional energy was just that strong.” 

“And Hapi summoning a herd of wild animals with a sigh is nothing out of the ordinary,” Claude replies sarcastically, “Ok, I think I’m ready to get out of this Abyss.” 

“Well sor-ry, I’m just more interested in the fact that a spell that I created, from scratch mind you, suddenly has a mind of its own and is beyond my control right now,” Sothis retorts, her raised fist and angry face visible only to Byleth, though her attention is more focused on the black beast as it takes off and hangs just out of reach of Edelgard and Dimitri. 

“Claude, bring that thing closer to the ground,” Byleth says calmly, ignoring the ensuing fight between her student and the Goddess. ‘To think that that is the least of my concerns right now.’ 

**“Straight out of line, I can’t find a reason…”**

As the music’s chorus begins, Claude lets loose a barrage of arrows at the flying beast, drawing more irritation from it than doing any real damage. The beast roars at Claude, swooping low in an attempt to attack him, only for Dimitri and Edelgard to jump onto its back and the former driving his lance into his spine. The beast realizes its mistake, and pulls sharply back into the sky in an attempt to shake them off, only for its unwanted passengers to hold on tightly as the mask worn by Edelgard flies off, revealing herself to her classmates as they all stare in stunted wonder. 

_ On the beast back… _

**“I’ll confess this, you're my tragedy…”**

__ “Shit!” Edelgard exclaims, her disguise no longer functional as she rips her helmet off, her hair blowing wildly in the wind. 

“Not like it would make much of a difference once the battle is over,” Dimitri yells over the racing wind, “How long did you intend to keep that damn thing on?”

Edelgard just shakes her head as she grips tightly onto the lance, and says, “Let’s just kill this damn thing before you ask too many questions.” The beast makes a sharp turn left, the momentum enough to swing Edelgard and Dimitri. Edelgard loses her grip, but is quickly grabbed by Dimitri as he pulls her close. 

“How about this,” Dimitri says as he looks at her, “Once this battle is over, you explain yourself to everyone.” 

“What makes you think I was planning otherwise?” Edelgard shouts back as the beast dips low once more, flying close to the ground as their classmates jump out of its way. 

“Because this song wouldn’t be playing if I trusted you!” Dimitri answers, causing Edelgard to pause and look Dimitri in his eyes. Edelgard can tell that he was being more affected by this spell than she was, and the mute rage she could see was threatening to be unleashed. 

Edelgard closes her eyes for a moment before looking back into his and says calmly, “I will.” 

**“Straight out of line…”**

Dimitri doesn’t offer an audible response, and instead, as the beast attempts another dive to shake off the two royals, Dimtiri throws Edelgard up to the beast head, and as it pulls from the dive, she drives her dagger into its skull, causing it to roar violently as it crashes into the ground. 

Dimitri jumps off, ripping his lance from its back as black mist spews from the wound. Edelgard does the same, coming to rest next to Byleth as she kneels next to the princess. 

“You good?” Byleth asks, her eyes not leaving the beast as it dissolves into nothing. 

“I should be,” Edelgard answers as she rises, her glare focused wholly on the damnable man at the altar as the song abruptly ends. 

Around her, the battle is also nearing its end. The soldiers have formed a defensive barrier between the wild beasts and three masked people at the altar, and her classmates are all standing ready for a possible counter attack. She throws a look at where Flayn is hiding to find Ashe and Dedue by the corner where she left her, the latter of which holding Flayn in his arms. Her glare softens into a look of pity as she thinks, ‘I pray his opinion of her doesn’t change once he learns the truth.’

“Well,” Odesse suddenly exclaims, “Well, well, well… that was incredible!” 

“How so?” Yuri replies in a mocking tone, glaring at the man. 

Odesse just grunts in amusement as he stows away his notebook, saying, “I do believe we’ve seen enough for today.” His gaze turns to Edelgard as he says, “Thank you, dear princess. If not for your betrayal, I would’ve never gotten the chance to see the Sword of the Creator’s true power unveiled. But now, I believe we’ve overstayed our welcome.” Odesse snaps his fingers, and flames envelope the remaining soldiers, himself, the grimories and the bodies of the dead, and he says, “Next time, we’ll be ready.” 

The flames dissipate, leaving the ground they stood on empty. Edelgrad grits her teeth in frustration, cursing Odesse to Hell and back for what he put her and so many others through. ‘Someday, I will end him.’

“Wew,” Sothis says from behind her, “Thank goodness that is over.” 

Edelgard looks over at Sothis, the Goddess smiling triumphantly as if she had done anything productive. But just then, Edelgard felt the air chill next to her as Byleth’s eyes glared at Sothis. 

Sothis looks up at Byleth, fear evident in her eyes as she whispers, “Uh… By… you’re scaring me….” 

As her classmates walk over, Edelgard just steps back a little as Byleth walks over to Sothis. Sothis cowers before Byleth, whispering, “M-mercy…?”

Byleth only whispers back, “I’m only doing this because you deserve it,” and proceeds to forcefully smack the Goddess clean in the face, the surprisingly audible slap causing everyone to jump in surprise as, in their eyes, Byleth had smacked the air. 

“Did… did Byleth just slap the Goddess?” Claude asks, causing Ashe and Dedue to tilt their heads in confusion as Edelgard watches Sothis writhe in pain on the ground.

“What do you mean ‘did Byleth just slap the Goddess’?” Ashe asks incredulously. 

Edelgard just sighs and says to the boy, “It’s going to be a long explanation, so I hope you're ready.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, Merry Christmas!!!  
> Hope everyone enjoyed the gifts of Edelgard and Flayn returning and Byleth slapping the living shit out of Sothis!
> 
> Next time, we are all owed an explanation, but not before I take a couple weeks off. So anyway, hope everyone enjoys the holidays and I will see you all next year!


	26. Getting Away With Murder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I feel irrational, so confrontational, to tell the truth I am getting away with murder.”- Papa Roach

_ Sothis looks over the monastery, trying to identify Lysithea by her emotional output. ‘Come on, I know you're here…’  _

_ Her head snaps as she spots her, walking calmly down the courtyard to the Golden Deer classroom. ‘Bingo, found you.’  _

_ Sothis dips down and enters the classroom, finding it largely empty save for Lysithea entering the classroom and Hilda sleeping with her head buried in her arms on the desk. Lysithea audibly sighs and Sothis can tell that she’s annoyed. Lysithea walks over to Hilda and shakes her awake, causing the girl to jump and exclaim, “PHALANX FORMATION!”  _

_ Lysithea sighs again and says, “Classes don’t start until after the mock battle.”  _

_ Hilda blushes as she sinks back into her chair, blushing as she says, “Ah, right…” _

_ Lysithea rolls her eyes as more of their classmates enter the room.  _

_ ‘Hmmm,’ Sothis thinks as she phases through the girl, ‘That didn’t grab her attention. Maybe if I…” She reaches out and attempts to grab Lysithea’s arm, only for her hand to pass right through while Lysithea starts having a heated argument with Leonie. _

_ “Why would you hate magic?” Lysithea asks angrily, “If you spent some time and read a book, maybe you would have a better appreciation for it.”  _

_ “So what if I don’t like magic,” Leonie shouts, “I hardly see you pulling your weight at the training grounds.”  _

_ “Ladies, please,” Lorenz says calmly, “There is no need to fight over something as trivial as-” _

_ He gets cut off as both Leonie and Lysithea punch him in the jaw, both screaming, “NO ONE ASKED YOU!”  _

_ This is met with hearty laughter from Raphael and Ignatz as Marianne, who remained at the back of the classroom, just tried to hide herself away behind a pillar.  _

_ “Well, I can safely say that this isn’t working,” Sothis says out loud, no one paying her any mind, “Looks like I’ll have to take my leave then.”  _

_ Sothis leaves the classroom and starts venturing back to the gate to wait for Byleth’s arrival. Suddenly, she senses someone behind a wall. She stops in her tracks and glances curiously at the wall in question, tilting her head. ‘Odd. I thought I sensed someone back there.’  _

_ Throwing caution to the wind, she risks phasing through the wall, and finds a stairwell leading down right behind it. Her attention grabbed completely, she went down the stairs and found a hallway, lit torches lining the walls. “By my own holy name,” she whispers, “How did we miss this?”  _

_ She takes a few minutes to explore this hallway, finding branching rooms in various states of decay before she senses the person again, this time behind a bookshelf. ‘Ah-ha, I’ve got you now…’ _

_ Before she can follow this person, however, she senses Edelgard right above her. ‘Wait, why is the princess above… oh shit.’  _

_ She darts back out of the ground and finds Byleth walking down the entrance hall and, after quickly coming up with a reasonable excuse, reports her findings about Lysithea to her, keeping the underground room secret for the time being.  _

\--------------

“And that was how I initially discovered the Abyss,” Sothis says as she rubs the handprint that had formed on her cheek. She is currently sitting next to Edelgard in front of a campfire in the chapel room, with everyone else sitting around the same fire watching Edelgard as she repeats what Sothis said for those who can’t hear her. 

They had only just set up the fire, and Sothis had volunteered to talk first, mostly to explain how she knew of the Abyss in the first place as well as fill in the non-crest bearers as to what had been happening behind their backs. 

“And… you didn’t think to tell me of this, why?” Byleth asks.

“I thought it would be inconsequential if I didn’t tell you,” Sothis answers, “Besides, what do you think would happen if you discovered the Abyss at the start of the year and got in trouble because of it?” 

Byleth looks back at the campfire, and after a few minutes of contemplation, says, “You have a point. I honestly doubt even Rhea would’ve been too terribly happy if I had found this place too quickly.” 

“Hence why I never told you,” Sothis says. 

“In that case,” Claude begins, “How did you first contact the Ashen Wolves then? If I’m not mistaken, you can only talk to crest bearers.” 

“We  _ are  _ crest bearers,” Yuri says while raising his eyebrow at Claude, “All four of us.” 

“Really?” Linhardt asks, his interest piqued, “Which ones?” 

“I have the crest of Aubin,” Yuri answers first. 

“Chevalier,” Balthus says next. 

“I bear the crest of Noa,” Constance says third. 

Hapi looks at the fire as she says quietly, “Timotheos.” 

As each of the crests are listed off, Linhardt’s morphs from curiosity to pure shock, until he exclaims, “You all bear the crests of the Apostles?!” 

“The who?” Hilda asks incredulously. 

“Not ‘The Who,’” Sothis replies sarcastically, “The Apostles, the ancient followers of Seiros.” 

“Yeah,” Linhardt begins, a strange level of excitement in his eyes, “They were thought to have gone missing not long after the founding of the church of Seiros, and it was believed that their crests-” 

“Linhardt!” Byleth shouts, beginning the boy to silence, “Stop! We need answers, yes, but not to that right now. Once we’re all on the same page, you can ask them about their crests all you want, alright?” 

Linhardt sighs and nods, sinking back to the floor as Byleth asks, “Ok. Getting back to the topic, about when did you first contact the Ashen Wolves?”

Sothis sits up straight as she begins her next story…

\--------------

_ Sothis slumps on her throne with a heavy sigh as she says, “Finally. It’s over.” _

_ “I’d say that went well,” Byleth states, “Could’ve been smoother at the beginning, but we can’t hope for perfection every time.” _

_ “Yeah,” Edelgard replies quietly, her eyes still locked on the door, “I just hope, whatever comes of this, it’s for the better.” _

_ “I agree,” Sothis says as she steps off her throne, “You two best get some sleep for the night. I need to check a few things on my own.” _

_ “Ok,” Byleth replies as she walks to the door with Edelgard, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” _

_ “Yes,” Edelgard confirms, “Goodnight professor,” and she grabs the door handle and disappears from sight, and is immediately followed by Byleth as she also disappears. _

_ Sothis looks about her throne room one last time before saying, “Ok, Byleth typically takes about five minutes to get changed, then she reads for about half an hour. Exiting the sword seems to be a silent affair, so if I wait about fifteen minutes, she probably won't notice me leaving.”  _

_ And so she waits, mostly lounging on her throne in silence since she didn’t want to get distracted by any music. After fifteen minutes, she decides it’s time. ‘Ok, let’s see if I’m right.’  _

_ She phases out of the sword and into Byleth’s room, sticking close to the ground and out of her sight. Byleth is currently sitting in her bed, completely enraptured in a book, as expected, though she holds it way too close to her eyes. ‘Sheesh By, no wonder Manuela thinks you need glasses.’  _

_ Sothis is able to slip out of the room undetected, and ventures through the monastery to where she initially found the first staircase leading down. She goes down the stairs, passing the ruined rooms until she hears a conversation occurring between, strangely, Rhea and someone unknown to her. She peeks into the doorway to observe the conversation. _

_ “Will there be added security to the Abyss?” The man asks, shifting uncomfortably.  _

_ “I’m afraid not, Aelfric” Rhea answers, “We simply lack the resources necessary. The recently recruited knights have, so far, proven to be a hindrance to the Church, and it will likely take some time for them to be of any real use. As for the guard, they are the only ones keeping the Church safe right now. We’ve even had to recruit several of the guards, including the gatekeeper of all people, because we need somewhat skilled soldiers in the knights ranks.”  _

_ “We are really scraping the bottom of the barrel then,” Aelfric replies, “None of the nations were of any help?”  _

_ “The Kingdom’s army is spread thin, the alliance is divided on it, and we didn’t even bother with the Empire because we know what they would say,” Rhea affirms, “Beyond that, all we could hire were people with dreams of grandeur and deluded visions of knighthood.”  _

_ Aelfric is slightly taken aback by Rhea’s disdainful observations, and says, “I may be a Cardinal, but even I think that is a rather cold statement from you.”  _

_ Rhea looks away for a moment and says, “I’m sorry. It has been a long couple of days for me and I need to get some much needed rest tonight.”  _

_ “Before you go however, I need to ask this: the priests. What do you want done with them?” Aelfric asks.  _

_ “Julias and Ralph are to be taken into the Abyss,” Rhea confirms, “They are merely victims of circumstance but they both believe they deserve punishment for their crimes. I can admire that level of integrity even if they may have not done anything wrong willingly. Tell them that it is my mercy for their devotion to the Church and their honesty. As for the others, they have already been executed.”  _

_ “Very well then,” Aelfric nods, “I’ll collect them from their cell. Goodnight, Archbishop.”  _

_ “Goodnight, Cardinal,” Rhea replies, and turns to leave the room as Aelfric descends a staircase behind a bookshelf, closing it behind him.  _

_ Before Sothis can follow him down, he hears Rhea saying, “I know you're here.”  _

_ Sothis freezes, keeping her mouth shut and holding her breath as she listens. _

_ “I wasn’t trying to hide,” another voice answers Rhea, allowing Sothis to sigh quietly with relief as she looks at this newcomer with pale blue hair.  _

_ Rhea shakes her head at the man and says, “Has he attempted to start the Rite, Yuri?”  _

_ “No, I’ve been able to keep the others away from him enough that he hasn’t had the chance,” Yuri replies, “I do fear, though, that we’re running out of decoys to use while exploring the Abyss.” _

_ Rhea hums quietly and asks, “Would Hapi be able to…?”  _

_ Yuri shakes his head and says, “I’m afraid not. She’s still too nervous to try.” _

_ “Very well then,” Rhea answers as she approaches the doorway where Sothis is hiding, “Don’t force her to do it, but just let her know to keep it in mind if we have no options left.”  _

_ “I will, Rhea,” Yuri replies, walking over to the bookshelf that leads to the hidden stairs. Sothis slips away from the door, and watches as Rhea steps out and pauses. She looks back into the room and Sothis can hear the bookshelf being closed inside. Once closed, Rhea wraps her arms around herself, taking a shaky breath, and Sothis can see tears rolling down her face.  _

_ Rhea stands there for a few minutes, and shakes her head before returning to the stairwell leading up, leaving Sothis alone in the hall. ‘What was that about?’ Sothis asks herself, ‘Who’s Hapi? What is this rite? Why were you crying?’ Sothis is initially torn, but makes up her mind and says quietly, “Focus. Don’t confront her yet. Now is not the right time.”  _

\--------------

“Hold up!” Dimitri suddenly says, interrupting Sothis, “You had the chance to confront Rhea and you didn’t take it?” 

“Let me reiterate this,” Sothis begins as she crosses her arms, “What do you think Rhea would’ve done if she learned that I exist like this? Or better yet, how would you think the nobility of Fodlan would react to my return?” 

Dimitri opens his mouth, but fails to speak as he mulls over the details of the question before shaking his head in defeat, Sothis clicking her tongue at him and saying, “Uh-hu, that’s what I thought.” 

“Let’s just get back to the point,” Byleth says, “What happened after Rhea left?” 

As Sothis opens her mouth to speak, Yuri says, “Actually, I think I’ll take over from here.”

\--------------

_ Yuri enters his room, carefully locking his door as he sighs heavily, whispering to himself, “At this rate, that Rite will happen by the end of the month.”  _

_ “What Rite?” the disembodied voice of a young girl suddenly asks, causing Yuri to quickly draw his sword and face his room proper.  _

_ “Who said that?” he asks loudly, “Who the Hell is in here?”  _

_ “Whoa! Calm down there,” the voice says, “I’m only a friendly spirit who wants to help you.”  _

_ “Friendly spirit my ass,” Yuri retorts, “Did Aelfric summon you?”  _

_ “No, he did not,” the spirit says, “I highly doubt anyone can actually summon a spirit to begin with.”  _

_ Yuri lowers his sword, and asks, “Then who the Hell are you?”  _

_ “Call me Sothis, the progenitor Goddess of Fodlan,” the spirit says, and Yuri can almost feel the smugness in the voice.  _

_ Yuri just snorts dismissively and says, “Yeah, and I’m the son of the Archbishop. Like I can believe any of that.”  _

_ “Then let me… wait,” the voice goes silent for a few minutes before it returns, and says, “Ok, now let me show you.” And Yuri can feel his soul getting pulled from his body and up to the monastery.  _

\--------------

“And that is how I’ve come to have a love-hate relationship with the Goddess,” Yuri finishes, glaring at the space next to Edelgard as Sothis shrugs her shoulders with an embarrassed smile on her face. 

Byleth ignores Yuri’s jab at Sothis as she asks, “You said something about decoys and this Rite?” 

“The Rite of Rising specifically,” Yuri answers, “It is a ritual once performed by the Apostles that ultimately ended in failure. The exact extent of the Rite and its subsequent failure is a mystery to us, but Aelfric has been obsessed with it for years now. He hasn’t told me why, but having myself and the other Ashen Wolves, the only known beares of the Crests of the Apostles, down here told me enough.” 

“Hence the reason we are the only ones who go on scouting expeditions in the Abyss,” Constance adds, “It was a clever plan that Yuri put in place. We stay below and bring back detailed maps of the Abyss, planting decoy traps and corpses to throw off any real expedition down here while also putting space between ourselves and Aelfric.” 

“So the Abyss is actually quite safe then?” Ashe asks. 

“Marginally,” Balthus says, “While there are still some unstable rooms and a few venomous spiders down here, it’s nowhere near as dangerous as the maps of the floors above make it out to be.” 

“Hell, we even found a lower entrance on our, what, fifth expedition,” Yuri adds, “We only said that we had no idea because we don’t trust Aelfric. In fact, I answer directly to Lady Rhea herself when he’s not looking, usually to give her a more accurate report of what’s going on down here.” 

“Then that means that she must know of the lower entrance then,” Hilda suddenly says with excitement. 

“Yes and no,” Yuri corrects, “Yes, I told her we found another entrance further below, no, because said entrance can only be accessed by a pegasus or a wyvern.” 

“So it's on the cliff face?” Claude asks, to which Yuri nods solemnly, “Shoot, and here I thought we could get out of here sooner.” 

“On the contrary, I happen to keep a pegasus there,” Constance says with pride, “It’s how we’ve been able to collect the corpses of dead animals to use as decoys.” 

“Speaking of the dead animals, whose idea was that?” Byleth asks with a small glare, and all the Ashen Wolves point to the empty space next to Edelgard as she does the same, causing the phantom Sothis to sink back in embarrassment. 

Linhardt, the memory of the poor creatures still fresh on his mind, simply asks nauseously, “Why?” 

Sothis starts fiddling with her fingers as she whispers, “Well… seemed like a good idea at the time… uh…” 

Dedue lets out a loud sigh, drawing everyone’s attention as he says, “I think we need to get back to the point,” and he directs his gaze at Edelgard expectantly. 

Edelgard closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before saying, “I promised an explanation, so I will tell you exactly what I’ve already told Dimitri, Claude, and Byleth.” And thus, she starts talking, explaining relevant bits of her past, leaving most of the details unknown (much to Dimitri’s mute frustration), the history of the armor she still wears, Those Who Slither in the Dark and the actions they have taken, the mask in her lap and the blood that proverbially stained it, as well as admitting her own actions against the Church up until she meets Sothis and the events that happened between her, Sothis, and Byleth, with the latter two adding anecdotes where needed at that point. 

“Before we left for Gautier, I had admitted part of the truth to Dimitri,” Edelgard says almost mechanically, her voice slightly strained from speaking for so long. 

“So… that’s why we heard that crash from his room the night before we left?” Hilda asks nervously. 

“And is that also why you and Dimitri put so much space between yourselves during the briefing and the march?” Ashe asks immediately after, to which both royals nod in confirmation. 

“To be fair,” Sothis says with a serious tone, “It could’ve gone a lot worse and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.” 

“She has a point,” Claude agrees, “Sothis had asked me to stand between their rooms the next morning just in case Dimitri wasn’t in a… shall we say… ‘peaceful’ state of mind.” 

“Personally, I thought it was a bad idea,” Byleth says, “But I knew I couldn’t change her mind. I was half tempted to barge into Dimitri’s room until Sothis told me that everything was… nominal, for the lack of a better term.” 

Everyone sits in silence as they contemplate Edelgard’s words. Dedue just looked into the fire as he asked, “What happened next? Did you fake your illness?” 

“It was genuine,” Edelgard answers, “Manuela knows when someone is faking an illness. Just ask Bernadetta and the number of times she tried to get out of class in the first month here.”

“She’s right,” Bernadetta confirms, “Manuela was able to see right through each one of my attempts. It wasn’t until after the first mission in the Red Canyon did I stop trying to fake it.” 

“So if your illness was genuine, why and how did you kidnap Flayn?” Claude asks.

“I think I’ll start at the beginning of that one,” Edelgard begins…

\--------------

_ Edelgard steps towards her bed and kneels down, pulling her trunk containing the Emperor of Flames armor out. She opens the trunk and is greeted by the mask, stained with the blood of too many innocent lives.  _

_ “What are you going to do now?” Sothis asks, now standing over Edelgard’s shoulder with a grin of her own. _

_ Edelgard’s grin only grows, her migraine finally subsiding as she says, “The right thing.” _

_ “And by right thing, you mean we are going to kidnap Flayn instead, right?” Sothis asks, somewhat worried that she could be reading Edelgard wrong.  _

_ “They place too much value in her for this to be a simple kidnapping,” Edelgard says as she pulls out the rest of the armor, “There is something about her they are not telling me, and I need to find out from Flayn herself.”  _

_ “Good,” Sothis says with a sigh, “Because I know just the place we can stay, but I need to introduce you to a few people first.”  _

_ “Ok?” Edelgard asks, “Who are they?”  _

_ “They call themselves the Ashen Wolves, descendants of the Apostles, all crest bearers'' Sothis answers, “They live in a complex under the monastery known as the Abyss, and they happened to have explored quite a bit of it. If you want to keep Flayn out of the hands of TWSITD, we might as well place her right under their and the Church’s noses.”  _

_ Edelgard nods, and says, “We’ll have to save proper introductions until later. If I’m not mistaken, we only have until late tonight to get her out of here.”  _

_ “In that case, here’s what I’m proposing,” Sothis begins, “You will meet one of the Ashen Wolves while out of armor at one of the entrances later this afternoon. Once you're acquainted, he’ll show you how to get into the Abyss for when we do collect Flayn while you... wait a minute, can’t you teleport?”  _

_ “It wouldn’t work,” Edelgard says as she shakes her head, “I’ve only ever been able to teleport myself. I can get away with you because you're a disembodied spirit.”  _

_ “Ok, I’ll stick with my original plan then,” Sothis replies, “Where was I… ah yes, once acquainted you will also show him the mask,” she points to the mask on the bed, “And tell him to keep an eye out for it once you’re down there.”  _

_ “Ok,” Edelgard looks at her armor as she asks, “And what about Flayn, how will we get her?”  _

_ Sothis giggles evilly and says, “Well, I believe the old saying goes, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’, so leave that part to me.”  _

\--------------

“Wait, you…” Byleth is dumbfounded by this revelation, and looks between Flayn, Edelgard, and Sothis as she exclaims, “You got Flayn to come with you  _ willingly!? _ ”

“Yep!” Sothis says with a merry grin. 

“So how did that conversation go?” Hubert asks incredulously as he looks at Flayn, “Surely you can’t be that impressionable.” 

Flayn just sighs as she says, “I guess it’s my turn then…” 

\--------------

_ Flayn is sitting at her desk in her room, reading a book on the more recent history of Fodlan. This particular chapter deals largely with the Tragedy of Duscur and the fallout that followed. ‘To think so much happened without me knowing,’ she thinks to herself, ‘I would’ve thought Fodlan would be at peace with itself by now, let alone the world.’  _

_ As she closes the book and prepares to leave her room, she hears something quite peculiar, like a young girl calling out to her.  _

_ “Pst,” the voice says quietly, “Hey, Flayn. Can you hear me?”  _

_ “Hmmm?” Flayn turns to face her room, scanning it nervously as she asks, “Who’s in here?”  _

_ “Oh good, you can hear me,” the voice says with a slightly louder voice, “If you couldn’t hear me, my friend and I wouldn’t be able to help you.”  _

_ Flayn drops her book as the color in her face drains away, her eyes growing wide with fear, “Who… who are you?”  _

_ “Just a friendly spirit looking out for you,” the voice assures, “I don’t have a lot of time to properly introduce myself, so just call me ‘S’ for now.”  _

_ “‘S’?” Flayn asks, both confused and scared.  _

_ “Mmmhmm,” the voice replies. _

_ Flayn takes a step back to her door, half tempted to just run out and grab Seteth, but a combination of fear and curiosity kept her in place. She hesitantly asks, “W-what could you possibly help me with?”  _

_ S sighs, and Flayn can tell that whatever news this specter brought wasn’t good. S then says, “You are in danger.”  _

_ “From what?” Flayn asks.  _

_ S is quiet for a minute and says, “Tell me, are you familiar with Those Who Slither in the Dark?”  _

\--------------

Flayn goes silent, looking at the ground as her hands grip her dress tightly. Byleth can see her hands shaking slightly, and understood just what Flayn was avoiding saying. ‘Come on, you can do it,’ Byleth encourages silently. 

Flayn looks up at Edelgard, and the princess just nods at her while saying, “They deserve to know.” 

“Know what?” Claude asks, his eyes glancing between Flayn and Edelgard as he tries to piece this puzzle together. 

Flayn takes a deep breath before she continues…

\--------------

_ Flayn falls to the ground, her back against her door as she starts to hyperventilate. “No,” she whispers, “Not them. Anyone but them….” Flayn starts shaking violently, burying her head in under her hands as she tries to hide herself.  _

_ “Uh oh,” S says, seemingly approaching her in an effort to calm her, “Hey, listen to me. They aren’t here yet, but they will be if we don’t act now.”  _

_ Flayn tries to calm herself, taking several deep breaths as she asks, “How? How can you help me?”  _

_ “I have a friend that will,” S answers, “They were once a victim of their machinations and were later forced to work with them… well, somewhat forced for the sake of… actually, I’ll let them explain. But right now, my friend is your best bet for staying out of TWSITD’s hands.” _

_ “And… who is your friend?” Flayn asks, her panic attack having subsided.  _

_ “The Emperor of Flames,” S says, “The one who orchestrated the sabotage of that incident in the Holy Mausoleum, the one who commands the Death Knight.”  _

_ “A-and… how will I know they can be trusted?” Flayn asks, “How can I know they won’t hurt me?”  _

_ “Because I know the person under that mask won’t do it,” S answers, “Believe me, I wouldn’t call them my friend if I couldn’t trust them myself.”  _

_ Flayn sat silently, flashes of an ancient battle lost to time playing in her mind's eye for the first time in many years. ‘I never want to face that again…’ she tells herself, and she stands to her feet as she asks, “What should I do?”  _

_ “You may not like it, but you need to get into an argument with Seteth,” S answers.  _

\--------------

“Wait, really Sothis?” Dimitri interrupts again, “You encouraged that argument?” 

“I am not joking when I say this, but she called it ‘her plan that could not possibly go wrong’,” Edelgard growls through her teeth, “I came very close to strangling her for that, but it got what we wanted.” 

“Well, it was either we waited for Seteth to retire to his room for the night, which is typically around midnight,” Sothis argues, “Or we made it so Seteth would have no desire to check on Flayn for a little while so we could spring the rest of the plan into motion.” 

“And just how did that go?” Ashe asks. 

“Absolutely flawlessly,” Sothis answers. 

“No, it did not,” Edelgard counters…

\--------------

_ Edelgard is sitting at her desk, writing one last letter to her father before she starts her mission. ‘This is almost guaranteed to draw some unwanted attention to me, but this needs to be sent.’ As she writes, the ink on the paper disappears from sight, leaving the paper seemingly blank. Once she’s finished, she allows the paper to dry for a few minutes before she pulls a separate pot of ink out and starts frantically writing another letter on the back of the first. Once she’s finished, she lets it sit to dry once more, the message written not disappearing like the last.  _

_ “Ok,” Sothis says suddenly from nearby, “Flayn and Seteth have just finished their argument and she’s waiting for you.” Sothis then looks at the hastily written letter and asks, “Oh, leaving a message to throw everyone off?”  _

_ “Not quite,” Edelgard says as she pulls a small wax cube and a small pot with a long handle out, “I need this sent to father.”  _

_ “Letting him know what’s going on?” Sothis asks nervously, “When we take Flayn, Rhea will probably-”  _

_ Edelgard cuts her off and says, “There are actually two messages written on this. It’s a trick we use in the Empire when we need to send information without anyone knowing.” Edelgard holds the wax over a nearby candle, allowing it to melt before pouring the contents on the now poorly folded letter. After the wax is poured, she reaches into her breast pocket and pulls a small seal stamp, pressing it gently into the wax. “Normally, I’d use the seal in my drawer, but this one has a subtle difference.” She withdraws the seal stamp and shows Sothis the imprint left. It is the emblem of the Empire, a twin headed eagle; however, Sothis notices a very faint third head seems to be sitting in between the other two heads.  _

_ “I see,” Sothis says quietly, “I’m guessing some kind of chemical will make the message visible?” _

_ “Lemon juice,” Edelgard answers, “It’s safe, non-toxic and can keep the paper from being damaged.”  _

_ “Ok, that makes sense. So what kind of message are you sending him?”  _

_ Edelgard rises from her chair and starts donning her armor as she explains, “I’m letting him know what’s really going on, yes, but I’m also telling him to go forward with forcing TWSITD out of Enbarr. The captain of the guard, Ladislava, is already aware of the plan and only needs to execute it. I just pray that the events that transpire won’t leave Enbarr in ruins once it is finished.”  _

_ “Wow,” Sothis says in shock, “You’ve been busy when I’m not looking.”  _

_ “I’ve been drafting these plans since right after the battle in Gaspard,” Edelgard says as she secures the last piece of armor, “With any luck, Ladislava will be able to execute them with little issue.”  _

_ “And we’d best hope that our luck holds out as well,” Sothis nods and says, “You ready?”  _

_ “I pray that I am…” _

\--------------

“Before we move on,” Hubert interrupts, “I need to ask: Did this other plan in Enbarr succeed?” 

“I don’t know,” Edelgard answers, “I only left the letter in the trunk where I’d normally keep this armor because Manuela had effectively locked me in my room so I could recover.” 

Claude narrows his eyes and asks, “Then how did you meet with…” 

Both Edelgard and Yuri answered, “Teleportation.” 

“It was the only way I could meet with Yuri without drawing too much attention,” Edelgard adds, “As I said, though, I can only teleport myself and only to places where I’ve been.” 

“She met me in one of the storage closets,” Yuri says, “She walked in the door after I heard some kind of brief fire just outside. After I told her how to enter the Abyss from any entrance as well as tell her which entrance was closest to Flayn’s room, she just disappeared in a pillar of fire.”

Claude just nods at the explanation and gestures at Edelgard while saying, “Ok. Question answered. Carry on.” 

\--------------

_ Edelgard places her mask on her face, and asks with her disguised voice, “Are we clear?”  _

_ Sothis vanishes from her room for a minute, and returns immediately after and says, “We’re clear. Go now.” _

__

_ Edelgard concentrates her mana, and a pillar of flame quickly engulfs her, obscuring her vision. Once the fire dissipates, she finds herself in the main administrative building, just outside of one of the rooms. Edelgard knocks on the door, and hears from inside, “Who’s there?”  _

_ Edelgard doesn’t answer, allowing Sothis to say, “Don’t worry. It’s just my friend and myself. No worries.”  _

_ Flayn quickly opens the door and pulls Edelgard inside, much to her shock, as Sothis says, “Hey, wait!”  _

_ Flayn shuts the door, and Edelgard faces the young girl as she asks, “Why did you do that? We’re supposed to be leaving, not staying here.”  _

_ “Sorry,” Flayn apologizes as she looks away, “I just panicked, and…”  _

_ Edelgard sighs and says, “Listen, I understand you’re scared, but we need to get moving.”  _

_ Flayn just nods dejectedly and asks, “So… you must be the Emperor of Flames S talked about?”  _

_ ‘Fucking Hell Sothis, why did you do that again?!’ Edelgard mental screams as she calmly says, “Yes. I’m here to get you away from TWSITD.”  _

_ “And we lost our window,” Sothis says with a huff, “A few servants just entered the hall and are just sitting there talking.”  _

_ “Great,” Edelgard mutters, shaking her head as she looks at the ground, “We have to do something to get them-” Before she can finish, she feels a strange energy just outside of the room, one she was familiar with. ‘Oh no.’  _

_ “Um,” Flayn whispers, also feeling the energy, “What’s going on?”  _

_ “Um, let me check,” Sothis says, and Edelgard watches as she phases out of the door before darting back in, exclaiming, “NEVER MIND, THEY’RE ALREADY HERE!!”  _

_ “Shit,” Edelgard curses, looking around the room for a possible escape, and spots a window on the wall, “Fuck me…”  _

_ “W-what are we going to do?” Flayn asks quietly, shying away from the door as someone knocks on it.  _

_ “Hey kid,” the voice says in an overly innocent tone, “We have something for you.”  _

_ Another person seems to slap the first person, and quietly says, “I do apologize for my colleague. He’s a bit of an idiot.”  _

_ “I am not!” _

_ And the two people start arguing with each other, their voices loud enough to surely draw attention, but then a third, more familiar voice admonishes the first two and says, “You two need to shut up and focus. We’re here for the Nabatean, and we don’t need the extra attention.”  _

_ Edelgard turns back to face the door, recognizing the voice immediately. ‘Solon…’ But when Solon mentioned the name, ‘Nabatean,’ Edelgard noticed the color from Flayn’s face drain away, and she tilted her head at her.  _

_ “Guys,” Sothis whispers, “We need to go!”  _

_ “Fuck it,” Edelgard says quietly, “The window then.”  _

_ Edelgard opens the window, looking out to find a slanted roof facing down the cliff face, her own fears filling her soul. Edelgard shakes her head to rid herself of those thoughts and says, “Flayn, over here.” Edelgard steps out the window, and helps Flayn as she steps out.  _

_ “Wait,” the first voice outside says, “Someone else is in there!”  _

_ Edelgard doesn’t stop to listen, and instead closes the window from the outside and holds Flayn’s hand as they carefully walk across the roof.  _

_ “Not a moment too soon,” Sothis says as they reach a flatter portion of the roof, “They just unlocked the door, but I think they’re going to the window now.”  _

_ “Where’s another entrance?” Edelgard asks, her disguised voice echoing on this silent night, “We can’t get to the original one from here.”  _

_ “What entrance?” Flayn asks as she risks looking over the roof's edge.  _

_ “Just give me a minute,” Sothis say as she darts off, and returns a few seconds later and says, “They aren’t fucking around with this. TWSITD has about a dozen more all over the monastery.”  _

_ “What about an entrance,” Edelgard says, now frustrated, “We can’t just sit here and wait for them to find us!”  _

_ “Um, we need to go,” Flayn says, walking away from the roof’s edge as she says, “They’re following us.”  _

_ “This way!” Sothis says, and Edelgard grabs Flayn once again as they run along the roof.  _

_ Behind them, they hear cursing and shouting as someone says, “Look, it’s the Emperor of Flames!”  _

_ “She’s taking the Nabatean for herself! That traitor!” Another shouts.  _

_ Edelgard, thanks to years of training, deftly pulls Flayn close and rolls off the roof as a sizzling lightning spell flies past them, landing safely in a bush below.  _

_ “The training arena, in there!” Sothis exclaims, and Edelgard gets up and pulls Flayn to her feet as they sprint into the arena, before Sothis says, “Stop here. This wall.”  _

_ Edelgard starts pressing her hand against the wall, and one of the bricks gives way, opening a hidden passageway behind it, “In here!” she says, pulling Flayn inside and quickly closing the door behind them. Edelgard rests her head against the wall, controlling her breathing as she listens to a series of foot steps rush by. She only breathes a sigh of relief when she hears the footsteps run the other way.  _

_ “Thank the Goddess,” Flayn whispers breathlessly.  _

_ “Um, yeah… you’re welcome,” Sothis replies, scratching her head awkwardly.  _

_ Flayn looks up and asks, “What?” as Edelgard throws a hidden glare at Sothis, causing the Goddess to laugh awkwardly.  _

__

_ Just then, a large man with black hair ascends the nearby stairwell and he asks, “I thought Yuri said you would be arriving at the administration entrance?”  _

_ Edelgard sighs and says, “We ran into difficulties.”  _

\--------------

“If I’m perfectly honest,” Balthus interjects, “Given just how hard you and Flayn were breathing, I don’t think ‘difficulties’ quite describe what you faced.” 

“Edelgard is just stubborn,” Sothis says, “If you hang out with her for long enough, you’ll understand.” 

Everyone, at this point, just looks at Edelgard and Flayn with wide eyes, amazed by how they pulled the ‘kidnapping’ off without anyone noticing. 

“So, when did Flayn find out about your actual identity?” Ashe asks. 

“Immediately after,” Edelgard answers, “I didn’t plan on keeping myself hidden for very long, and she at least deserved to know just who took her. I even gave her the same explanation for my actions as I did just a little bit ago after Yuri led us down to the room we were using on the seventh floor down.” 

“I also told her who I really am, though I couldn’t really prove it at the time,” Sothis adds. 

“And how did that go?” Dimitri asks, crossing his arms. 

“I felt sorry for her,” Flayn answers, drawing everyone’s attention, “She suffered immensely in TWSITD’s hands, and survived what even I could only describe as a living Hell. And for what she suffered, I honestly don’t hold anything against her for blaming the Church for doing nothing.” 

“Looking back now, though,” Edelgard adds, “There was probably no way they could’ve known.” 

“Yeah,” Flayn agrees, “As for Sothis… that took awhile to accept.” 

Dedue had been sitting largely in silence, listening to the stories told. While he certainly didn’t hold anything against the princess, not anymore at least, there was still one detail that bothered him. 

“I need to ask this,” he says, “What is a Nabatean?” 

Everyone looks over at Edelgard for an answer, but she says, “I can’t answer that.” 

“Well why not?” Claude asks, only to hear Flayn clear her throat. 

“That’s… my question to answer,” she says hesitantly, her hands gripping her dress tightly as she takes a few calming breaths. 

She looks up at Edelgard, and she just silently nods at her as Sothis whispers, “You can do it.” 

Flayn takes one last breath before mustering her courage and whispering just loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’m... a Nabatean,” as she brushes back her hair, revealing a pair of long, pointed ears. And thus, she told her story…

\--------------

_ Cethleann coughed hoarsely, the dust settling around her as she looked over the ruined countryside. Next to her, her mother slowly recovers from the explosion as a massive golem-like beast looks down upon them.  _

_ “Mother,” Cethleann shouts, helping her to her feet, “We need to go!”  _

_ “I know, Ceth,” her mother says, “Just run!”  _

_ The pair sprint away from the beast, the beast itself momentarily distracted by a massive dragon as it barrels right into it, the dragon shouting loudly, “Stay away from my niece!” _

_ Cethleann and her mother run across the field to a basecamp where Seiros is waiting, Seiros saying, “We’re almost through, but I need you two to cover the civilian’s on the right flank as they flee.”  _

_ “Yes ma’am,’ Cethleann says readily, and she and her mother transform into massive dragons and fly across the battlefield, over watching as people run away from the burning city. They spend a few minutes watching until they spot a powerful mage casting a series of spells, blocking the civilians escape and killing a few others.  _

_ “There!” Cethleann’s mother shouts, “The Agarthan mage!”  _

_ They dive in tandem at the mage, their fangs bared and claws extended as they descend. However, at the last minute, the mage looks up, his villainous, almost black eyes looking up at them in spite. He cast a powerful spell, striking Cethleann and her mother at the same time and knocking them both unconscious.  _

_ Some time later… _

_ Cethleann began stirring, every bone in her body aching as she tried to pick herself up, but her strength failed her. Everything seems silent, the soft wind blowing over the now desolate and empty battlefield. She can also hear someone sniffling, maybe crying, but she felt so weak she could barely move.  _

_ “Brother!” someone shouts from above her. Cethleann again tries to move, but her muscles refuse to cooperate. Then, she feels someone pick her up in their arms, and she recognizes them immediately.  _

_ “F-father?” she barely whispers, and she can see his face is contorted into one of pure sorrow and guilt.  _

_ He pulls her close, embracing her with all his strength as he cries, “I’m sorry… I couldn’t save her… forgive me…” _

_ Cethleann, from this new position, looks over her father’s shoulder and spots her mother, unmoving. Seiros keels over her, her hand on her mother’s chest as she whispers a silent prayer, and Cethleann knew her fate. She only wished she could cry… _

_ Some time later… _

_ Cichol opens the door to their house, half ruined in a battle that had occurred much earlier, and he laid his daughter on her bed, saying, “You need to rest. I don’t know how long it will take for you to recover, but I will watch over you until you have.”  _

_ Cethleann doesn’t say anything, and only closes her eyes as she allows herself to hibernate.  _

_ After what felt like only moments, Cethleann awoke, feeling completely reinvigorated and alive. She springs from her bed, her body surprisingly unaffected by atrophy, and sprints out of her room in search of her father. As she runs, however, she passes a cracked mirror, and pauses to look at herself, shocked by what she sees.  _

_ She isn’t a grown woman anymore; instead, she appears as if she had become a child again, and suspected that her voice might’ve changed as well. She looks around the room, and finds a note on a degrading desk that read, ‘Dear Daughter of mine, If you are reading this, it is because Seiros has requested my service once more, and I will likely visit only once a year or so. It… pained me to watch you as you slept, as your appearance grew younger and younger, praying that this would be the year you would finally awake. I waited almost a millennium for you, and I almost gave up. I only accepted Seiros’s invitation because you finally started stirring, and I knew I had nothing left to fear for you. I left a few books on Fodlan’s history for you to read, to help bring you up to date on events that have happened. Do await my arrival. With love, your Father.’ _

_ “I… I’ve been recovering for… a millennium?” Cethleann whispers in disbelief, “But… recovery should only take a century. What did that man do to me?”  _

_ Cethleann doesn’t know how long she sat in her room, contemplating the decades, the centuries that have passed her by. She did eventually start reading the books her father provided and made herself something to eat with the preserved food her father had left her likely a year ago, maybe longer, but the shock had left her near speechless. She was essentially a child again, maybe no older than fourteen or fifteen in appearance. Fodlan probably doesn’t even remember the war anymore, and based on the books she’s read, Fodlan hasn’t learned anything from its past mistakes.  _

_ A few days pass, and Cethleann spots a wyvern flying overhead, touching down just outside of her home. She steps away from the window cautiously, unable to identify the person underneath the robe as he walks up to and enters the house. She cracks open her door, and sees this man approach it, but the man seems to notice the door cracked as well. As Cethleann prepares to close the door and lock it, the man pulls back his hood, revealing a head of stark green hair as he asks, “Cethleann? Are you awake?”  _

_ Cethleann’s jaw drops, tears flowing down her cheeks as she bursts through her door and throws herself into her father’s arms. She buries her head in his shoulder as she sobs profusely, clinging onto him tightly as he does the same.  _

_ Some time later… _

_ Cethleann knelt in front of a gravestone, her hand resting on top as she whispered, “I’m awake mother. I’m finally awake.”  _

_ Her father stood nearby, watching as his daughter stood up and offered one last prayer. She walks back to him and asks, “Where will we go now?”  _

_ “To Garreg Mach Monastery,” he answers, “It’s almost time for the new academic year to begin, and Seiros still needs my assistance. We’ll be safe there, much safer than Zanado.”  _

_ “Ok,” Cethleann answers, “But… what about…”  _

_ Picking up on what his daughter is hinting at, he answers, “Seiros has adopted her old name ‘Rhea’ recently, and I’ve adopted the name ‘Seteth’ when I returned. You need a new name as well, and I doubt people would take kindly to you calling me ‘father’ since you appear only a few years younger than me at this point.”  _

_ Cethleann pauses and thinks for a few minutes before saying, “I think ‘Flayn’ is a nice name… *snort*… ‘brother’.”  _

_ Her father rolls his eyes with a grin as he says, “If that’s what you wish, I won’t challenge it, my dear ‘sister.’”  _

\--------------

Flayn (or, more appropriately, Cethleann) keeps her eyes closed, not daring to look at anyone once she’s finished. Everyone, besides Edelgard, Sothis and the Ashen Wolves, is shocked. Even Byleth has a hard time believing what she just heard. ‘I already knew of this from the timeline before, but to hear it from her now… with so many people here no less...’

“Excuse me,” Linhardt suddenly says, calmly standing up and walking over to one of the corners. 

Dimitri just shakes his head, trying to comprehend what he had been told as he asks, “What the Hell?”

Claude is a little more composed, though he holds his hands together in front of his mouth as he says, “So… Wha-,”

Suddenly, Linhardt screams at the top of his lungs from the corner, causing everyone to jump in fear as the scream echoes through the chamber. Linhardt then steps out of the corner, noticing everyone’s eyes are on him. He just calmly walks back to the group and sits down, saying, “I feel better now.”

Hilda just closes her eyes and shakes her head while saying, “Am I dreaming? Please tell me I’m dreaming.”

Claude, after staring at Linhardt for a few seconds, asks his question, “So… what made you want to tell us this?”

“Me,” Sothis says, “I needed to know her perspective on things, and at least give Edelgard a little bit more info as to what is really going on.” 

“But why?” Dedue asks, gently taking Flayn’s hand in his, causing her to gasp and blush slightly, “Why would the Archbishop keep this hidden from everyone?”

“I don’t know,” Edelgard answers, “But I’m going to find out.”

“And how will you do that?” Ashe asks, “If anything, she’ll try to arrest you, or worse, kill you.”

“Let her try,” Sothis whispers, her serious tone sending shivers down the mortal’s spines, “If she even lays a finger on Edelgard, or any of you for that matter, there won’t be any mercy from me.”

“What can you do?” Linhardt asks, “You're a ghost.”

“A ghost that can talk to crest bearers,” Byleth says, “Besides, I’m certain Rhea will listen to Sothis.”

“How so?” Linhardt asks. 

“Believe me,” Sothis whispers, “Once we get out of here, I am going to have a very long talk with my daughter.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk about a rollercoaster from Hell...
> 
> Anyway, I'm back and the truth has been revealed. This chapter proved surprisingly fun to write with all the flashbacks and reactions to all the explanations, and I flexed my creative license a little bit with Cethleann's origin story since the only real details we got in game was that she and her mother suffered the same injury in the same battle, but Cethleann survived and went dormant for almost a millennium while Seteth watched over her. Ah well, it's what I've got to work with and I'm doing the best that I can.   
> Any who, next week is the aftermath with even more truth bombs, so I do hope to see you then.
> 
> PS- "Fate had us meet as foes, but this Ring will make us brothers."- The Gravemind, Halo 2 (But, instead of ring, it's the Abyss. Seriously, this single quote fits so well with this arc.)


	27. Bring Me To Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Save me from the nothing I’ve become.” -Evanescence

Several hours have passed since the truth had been revealed around that campfire. Everyone had disbursed, the Ashen Wolves guiding everyone to safe rooms on the floor above for the night before venturing further up to check in with Aelfric, though none of the students could actually sleep, all walking between rooms and checking on each other. In one room, Linhardt, Ashe, Hilda, and Bernadetta are gathered together. 

“We’re dead,” Linhardt says, his eyes staring wide at nothing, “The explosions killed us and we’re dead.” 

“We’re not dead,” Ashe says quietly, “But at this point… hmph…” but is unable to continue. 

“What is there left to believe at this point,” Hilda whispers, “Once we get out, we’d have to confront Rhea… Seiros… whoever the Hell she is…” Hilda curls her knees to her chin, closing her eyes as a few tears form, whispering, “I just want Marianne… I just want to get out of here...” 

Hilda’s breath becomes shaky, and she tries to bury her face into her legs as quiet whimpering comes from her. Bernadetta moves over to her and gently embraces her, trying to comfort the despondent girl as she says, “We’ll be ok. We’ll get out of here.” 

Ashe rests his head against the wall, visions of Mercedes and Emile in his eyes as he looks at the ceiling above him. ‘Please… let us get free....’

Byleth stands at the edge of the doorway, just out of their sight as she listens to them, listening to their grief and disbelief to what had just been made known to them. Behind her, Sothis also listens to them, though her thoughts were a little more focused on what is going to happen once they get out of the Abyss. 

Byleth walks into the room, unable to take her students’ degrading will anymore, and simply says, “Hey…” 

“Evening Professor,” Ashe replies, his eyes still locked with the ceiling. Linhardt just nods at Byleth as Hilda whispers a quiet ‘thank you’ to Bernadetta as she pulls away from the pink-haired girl. 

“What now?” Bernadetta asks, “What are we going to do?”

“Getting out of here is first,” Byleth answers, “After that… I really don’t know.”

“You all already know what I’m going to do,” Sothis says from the doorway, “I’ve put it off for far too long at this point.”

“Did you know Professor?” Linhardt asks after repeating what Sothis said to Ashe, “About… how Rhea is the daughter of the Goddess?”

“I can’t say no,” Byleth says, “It’s something that I’ve known about for a while, but Sothis asked me to keep quiet about it.”

“Again, trying to mitigate the chaos that can come from it,” Sothis adds, “But at this point, we’ll have to prepare for the worst.”

“And by that, you mean something like Fodlan vying for your favor, right?” Linhardt asks. 

“I’m thinking more along the lines of TWSITD coming out of the shadows and bringing ruin to Fodlan,” Sothis replies, “Or Rhea herself doing the same. Once she learns that my favor is with Edelgard, she’ll either go ballistic or fall into depressive insanity. I don’t know which is worse.”

Bernadetta tilts her head as she asks, “Ballistic?”

“A word I picked up on my travels before I got tied to Byleth,” Sothis lies subtly, “It means to go absolutely crazy.”

Everyone sits silently as they picture the ramifications of their newfound knowledge, images of armies razing the countryside and Rhea transforming into a dragon, as described by Flayn, and laying waste to not just Enbarr, but Fhirdiad and Derdriu. 

“But… if you’re her mother,” Hilda begins, “Can’t you, like, tell her not to do it?” 

Sothis sighs, and says, “I have an idea, and I pray that it works, but unless she’s willing to heed me once we do face her, I doubt I can do anything.” 

Linhardt rubs his chin, thinking about how to go about this until he happens upon an idea. “Actually, maybe you shouldn't face her first, nor alone.” 

“What do you mean?” Sothis asks, “I’m the only one that could get through-” 

“We all know the truth,” Linhardt says, “But Rhea isn’t aware of that yet. I say we use that to our advantage.” 

“How?” Ashe asks, “Are you saying we don’t say anything incriminating?” 

“A little bit, but not entirely,” Linhardt says, “First, the only one that Rhea doesn’t trust is Edelgard, as far as we are aware. Second, they are going to find out about Edelgard kidnapping Flayn anyway once we do get out of here.” 

“How does that help?” Hilda asks, “At this point, you’re just stating the obvious.” 

“Yes,” Linhardt says, “But knowing what is obvious and how to take advantage of it are two different things. I think I have a plan, but I want to hear what Sothis’s plan is before I say anything.” 

“O...k…” Sothis says worriedly, “But… I think we need Edelgard on board before we start finalizing this thing without her.” 

“I’ll talk to her,” Bernadetta says as she stands up, “Just get the plan together for when I bring her.” 

Everyone just nods at the girl as she leaves while Byleth asks Linhardt, “Ok, what did you have in mind?” 

\--------------

Edelgard just lies on her back, her armor in a heap in the corner of the room. While she’d normally take the time to keep everything organized, she just didn’t feel well right now. She looks down at the uniform she still wears, cursing at the tears in her stockings and the wrinkles and stains that litter her jacket and coveralls. Even her gloves, which were normally the definition of pristine white, had taken on a dull gray from the dust and oil she used to keep her armor polished and limber while a few of the fingertips had split. She didn’t even do up her hair, her ribbons kept safe in her pocket. 

Edelgard sighs heavily, her mind drifting between the battle in that chapel room to the confession that followed. She felt like she didn’t say enough, that she should’ve been more thorough in her explanation, but since no one, especially Dimitri and Dedue had confronted her or attempted to attack her, she just thanked her lucky stars that they seemed to have accepted it. She rolls to her side, looking at the dagger that lay next to her, thinking, ‘When we get out, what will happen? Will people be thankful that we’re alive? Or will they try to kill me for taking Flayn? What am  _ I  _ going to do?’ 

Before Edelgard can dwell on these thoughts further, she hears from the doorway, “Um… your highness?” 

Edelgard props herself up on her arm, and asks, “Who is it?” 

“I-it’s… Bernadetta,” she says, opening the door a little more, “May… I-I come in?” 

Part of her wanted to say no, to just leave her be with her thoughts, but after spending the last two weeks with an insufferable Goddess, a disconnected, ancient being, and a group of people more focused on running from a madman than really helping her, she  _ needed _ better company, and Bernadetta was her best bet. 

“Um, sure,” Edelgard says, sitting up, “Please do.” 

Bernadetta hesitantly enters, closing the door behind her as she says, “Thank you,” quietly. 

She sits down in front of Edelgard, and quietly brushes her hair back as she asks, “Have you… b-been alright… down here?” 

“Not really,” Edelgard answers, looking at her uniform again, “Just look at me. Haven't had a bath in weeks, my uniform is irreparable, and I’ve had nothing but preserved foods and stale water.” 

“Buy… y-you aren’t looking forward to leaving yet, aren’t you?” Bernadetta asks, her eyes filled with nervous concern. 

Edelgard looks away, sighing quietly before saying, “No.” Edelgard wraps her arms around herself and keeps her eyes closed, “Once I get out, there will be a target on my back. TWSITD will attempt to assassinate me, Rhea will probably just kill me outright once we get to her, and I dread what she will do if we confront her on her past and what we know about Cethleann.” 

“You’ve taken to calling her that?” Bernadetta asks, somewhat confused and shocked. 

“I only do because she lets me,” Edelgard clarifies, “I know better than to call her that around people who are unaware.” 

“What about Dedue?” 

“Again, that’s her decision.” Edelgard opens her eyes and looks at the floor, “But it doesn’t concern me right now. My concern is what is going to happen in a few days when we do get out.” 

Bernadetta fiddles with her thumbs, trying to come up with something to say to Edelgard, and whispers, “I think you’ll be fine…” 

Edelgard, surprised by Bernadetta, exclaims, “What?! What do you mean I’ll be fine?” 

Bernadetta is initially intimidated by the princess, but she builds her resolve and says, “You forget just who you have stood by you.” 

Edelgard stops and thinks, going over her mental checklist of who could stand by her, but Bernadetta lists them off anyway. 

“There’s Byleth,” she begins, “I’ve seen how the two of you have gotten along, Lysithea as well. There’s also Dorothea and Petra, I know they care for you, and likely more so once they learn of what happened to you. Hubert is loyal to a fault,” she pauses and whispers, “Annoyingly so,” before resuming, “And you may not realize it, but I’m certain Claude and Dimitri will help you.” 

“Why would they?” Edelgard asks, “All I’ve done is hurt them.” 

“Then why were you and Dimitri having tea together twice a week?” Bernadetta asks while crossing her arms. 

“I… well… it was to… um…” Edelgard tries to come up with an excuse, but ultimately just sighs in defeat as she answers, “It was to humor him initially, but whenever he would suggest another tea party, I just couldn’t say no. I don’t know why, but….” 

“I think you need to talk to him,” Bernadetta suggests, “He’s been beating himself up over all this and, personally, I’m worried he might hurt someone if you don’t. As for Claude… *snort* I think he and Byleth are in love with each other.” 

“You’re joking,” Edelgard says in disbelief, “I thought he just has a crush on her?” 

“Nope,” Bernadetta says with a shake of her head, “I’ve had to sleep in the same room as Byleth a few times, and she has said his name while sleeping more than once.” 

Edelgard just stares at the girl, this information new to her. After a few moments, her shock turns to doubt as she says, “But… even then, I don’t…” 

“Do you remember the promise you made me?” Bernadetta asks suddenly, leaning forward so she can look into Edelgard’s eyes, “About my father?” 

‘How could I not,’ Edelgard thinks quietly, that promise still fresh on her mind:  _ “I swear, Bernadetta, I’ll bring your father to justice. If the worst comes and I can’t do anything directly, know that the royal palace in Enbarr is open to you.” _

“Yeah,” Edelgard says, “But I don’t see how…” 

Bernadetta interrupts Edelgard by embracing her, shocking her into silence as the purple-haired girl whispered, “That day, it was the first time I ever felt hope. The first time I ever believed that I could have a future.” Bernadetta pulls back, looking Edelgard in her eyes as she continues, “I never want to face that life in his hands again. I want to get away from him by any means necessary, even if it means moving to Enbarr once we graduate, and we will graduate because Rhea will listen to us, whether she wants to or not.” 

Edelgard just remains silent, wondering where the Hell the timid girl she knew had gone. After a few minutes of silence between them, Edelgard pulls Bernadetta back into an embrace and whispers, “Thank you,” her thoughts finally becoming clear. 

Once they separate, Bernadetta stands up and makes ready to leave before saying, “You do need to talk to Dimitri. I originally came here because Linhardt and Sothis have come up with a plan for when we do get out, but Dimitri needs to come first. Once you’ve buried the hatchet or have done whatever needs to be done, come find us.” 

“I will,” Edelgard replies, “I also think you need to talk to Hubert. You are right about him being loyal to a fault, but I think you can get him to see things in a different light.” 

“Um… yeah… I think I’ll… uh…” Bernadetta blushes profusely, shaking her head and saying, “I-I’ll see what I can do.” And she promptly leaves the room, leaving Edelgard to giggle at her friend's expense. ‘Huh, never thought I could call her a friend, but I really do need one right now.’ 

\--------------

Claude walked quietly down the hall, his thoughts a nervous wreck. ‘Should I tell her now? We don’t know if we are going to be welcomed back into the monastery with open arms again if Rhea finds out that we know the truth thanks to Flayn or Cethleann… I need to ask her which name she prefers.' 

Claude walks up to a room and quietly opens the door to peek inside, hoping to find Flayn but, while he does indeed find her, she is currently sleeping against Dedue’s chest, snoring quietly as Dedue himself strokes her hair gently while staring at the door. ‘Well, this is a fun find…’ 

“Do you need anything?” Dedue whispers, trying to not wake Flayn as she rests. 

“I did,” Claude replies quietly, “But if Flayn’s asleep, I can come back later.” Before Claude closes the door, he peaks back inside and quickly adds, “Also, you two look cute together,” and hurriedly walks away before Dedue can say anything. 

“Who looks cute together?” Someone asks from behind Claude. 

He stops as he curses quietly and turns to face Byleth, saying, “Flayn and Dedue. I had a question for her but she’s asleep right now.” 

“Uh-hu,” Byleth replies with a raised eyebrow, “You weren’t trying to eavesdrop on them, were you?” 

“No, really,” Claude tries to defend himself, raising his hands innocently, “I just wanted to ask her something, I swear.” 

Byleth just chuckles at him and starts to walk past him as she says, “You didn’t hear this from me, but I caught them kissing each other.”

Claude blinks his eyes when her words reach his ears, and just turns to look at her and asks, “What?”

“What?” Byleth replies, looking at Claude from over her shoulder. 

Claude’s eyes start growing wide, his mind a whirlwind as she sputters, “But… wait… I thought Flayn was… and he….”

“Flayn might be a millennium his elder, yes,” Byleth says sarcastically, “But I’m not going to judge.”

Claude stops sputtering and just stares as Byleth just walks away, unable to comprehend what she told him. ‘Dedue and Flayn, now an item. Dorothea is going to have a field day with that one. What was I doing again?’ Claude shakes his head, now clear of confusion as he calls out, “Hey, Professor. I actually need to talk to you about something.” 

“What do you need?” Byleth asks, slowing down so Claude can catch up, “I’m trying to find Bernadetta.”

“Is she missing?” Claude asks with mild concern. 

“I hope not,” Byleth answers, “We sent her to find Edelgard so we could discuss a few things.”

“Like what will happen when we face Rhea upon getting out of here?” Claude theorizes, to which Byleth nods in confirmation. “Fair enough, but…” Claude blushes slightly as he scratches the back of his head. 

“But…?” Byleth asks, now looking at him. 

“Um, you mind if we go into a room?” Claude asks, “Alone?” 

“Um… if you want to,” Byleth replies with a blush of her own, looking away sheepishly before following Claude. 

They wind down a few hallways until they reach an unoccupied room, away from everyone else. Claud makes sure to peek out the door one last time to ensure they weren’t followed before closing the door. 

“So…” Byleth begins, “What did you want to tell me?”

“Well,” Claude faces her while crossing his arms and tilting his head, avoiding her eyes as he speaks, “There’s just… something I’ve been meaning to say… for a while now.” 

Byleth stays silent, tilting her own head as she just stares at Claude. 

“You see…” Claude’s composure deteriorated as his nerves overtook him, “I… my… um… I haven’t told you… who I really am.”

Byleth remains quiet, although her eyes look down at the floor in contemplation. 

Claude clears his throat before continuing, looking away from the Professor, “I… my real name is-,”

“Khalid.”

Claude stops and looks at Byleth in shock, her eyes closed and her head lowered. “Excuse me?”

Byleth opens her eyes, but doesn’t raise her head as she continues, “You are Prince Khalid von Riegan, heir to the throne of Almyra.”

Claude is speechless and just stares at his Professor. ‘How, how the Hell does she know?’ “Di-did Sothis tell you?” 

Byleth shakes her head, an expression of guilt on her face as she whispers, “You did.” 

\--------------

_ Byleth looked out the window of the Archbishop’s chamber, the flames of war finally extinguished. She felt content inside, satisfied that her job was finished and that Fodlan had finally found peace after years of destruction. Besides, her students not only survived but celebrated their victory down below her, the courtyard of their former academy turned headquarters awash with golden banners and drinks being passed from person to person. _

__

_ “Can’t believe it’s over?” Khalid asks from next to her, his arm draped across her shoulders as she rests against him. She couldn’t quite put to words what she felt about this guy. Just standing next to him was enough to send her spirit a flutter, and it made her feel warm inside. She was even half tempted to allow him his way with her that night if he could sweet-talk her enough, but that was later.  _

_ “I can,” Byleth replies, “It all had to be done to keep Fodlan safe.”  _

_ “I know,” Khalid answers, pulling her to face him as he says, “But I doubt Almyra would be too happy to know what I feel for you.”  _

_ “Let them be unhappy,” Byleth replies, draping her arms around his neck, “So long as I’m with you, they can just shove it.” _

_ Khalid just laughs at her before pulling her up for a kiss, saying after, “Never change, Teach.” _

_ They turn back to face the window, watching the revelry down below as Leonie leads everyone in another drunken toast while Raphael lifts her on his arm. Across the courtyard, Lysithea and Hanneman are talking to each other about something while Hilda is dragging Marianne from table to table, sampling the foods they had missed when this war began. ‘Everything is perfect,’ Byleth thinks.  _

_ “This might sound crazy,” Khalid says, drawing Byleth’s attention, “But what if we could go back?” _

_ “What?” Byleth responds incredulously, “What do you mean?”  _

_ Khalid sighs, visible sorrow in his eyes as he says, “So many innocent lives were lost. So much was destroyed, all for what? I want to know what that empress was thinking when she started this war.” _

_ Khalid looks back at Byleth, his expression serious as he asks, “If you could go back, change everything, and, by some stroke of luck, save them, would you do it?” _

_ Byleth just looked at Khalid and asked herself, ‘Would I?’ She looks down at the ground and says, “If I could go back… I think I would, but only if I can save you as well.” _

_ Khalid just chuckled before turning his gaze back to the window, saying, “Of course you would. I know you cared for all of us equally, regardless of house. You wouldn’t just do it for me, you’d do it for everyone. Who knows, maybe you could get lucky and save Rhea, the king, and the empress as well.” _

_ “Yeah,” Byleth whispers, “Maybe…” _

\--------------

“That night,” Byleth whispers, tears falling down her face, “I made the worst mistake of my life and headed you. I tried to fix this. Three times I tried, and each time I failed. This is my last shot to save everyone, and when we got buried under here, I thought I failed.”

Byleth starts whimpering as Claude just stares at her in disbelief. ‘Good Goddess down the hall, I thought Cethleann was a revelation.’ Claude just leans against the wall, running his hands through his hair as he asks, “I’m sure Sothis knows but does anyone else?”

“I don’t know,” Byleth whispers, “No one should know.” 

“And, how exactly did you do it?” 

“It’s called a Divine Pulse. It allows me to stop time and go back to a different point if something goes wrong,” Byleth says quietly, folding her arms together as she speaks, “What I did… all I wanted was to give everyone a chance, a chance at a better future, one not ruined by war and death. Sometimes though, I wish I had never headed you…” Byleth stops speaking, her own guilt and sorrow overwhelming her as memories of the past timelines flashed before her eyes. 

Claude just watched as his professor, someone he cared for immensely, fell apart. She bore her soul to him, let him know of a truth that probably shouldn’t be known, and is likely only now breaking from the stress of the last few weeks, perhaps even years. ‘So much has happened to you,’ he wanted to say out loud, but deep within his heart, he heard, ‘She’s crying. I don’t need to tell you what to do.’ 

‘Either she’s going to punch me, or she’s going to start crying some more,’ Claude thinks to himself, ‘Either way, I’m probably going to get expelled for this if word gets out, so here I go.’ 

Claude takes a few steps to approach Byleth, placing his hand on her shoulder and saying, “Look at me.” 

Byleth looks up and opens her mouth to say something, only for Claude to place his hand on her cheek and kiss her. Her eyes spring wide open, and her face turns a bright red. She stays frozen like this until Claude pulls away, a small grin on his face as he asks, “Do you feel better yet?” 

“Wha…” Byleth starts, her mind completely scrabbled. “I… you… what?” 

“Teach... Byleth,” Claude looks down and takes her hand with his own, “I’m not sure if I will ever understand what you’ve been through. For all we know, what you faced could’ve been just a wild dream.” 

“But it wa-” Byleth starts speaking, but Claude just places his hand on her mouth. 

“Let me finish,” Claude requests as he removes his hand, “With everything said and done, I can’t change what I feel about you. Yes, it’s wrong and I will get in trouble for it, more so from your father than anything else, but knowing just what you’ve been through to get here, I don’t want to change this.” 

Claude lets Byleth’s hand go before wrapping his arms around her, and whispers into her ear, “I don’t want you to face the world alone anymore. You’ve had to do so too many times now. And, before I forget, I just want to say… I love you.” 

Byleth just stands stock still, staring at the door behind Claude as she thinks, ‘Never in a thousand timelines did I expect it to go like this.’ Byleth knew she loved him, yes, and he’s not wrong in saying that they could get into serious trouble if anyone found out. ‘‘If’ is still ‘if’ though,’ she told herself, ‘What’s to say we shouldn’t live a little dangerously.’ 

After sniffling one last time, Byleth returned Claude’s embrace, whispering “I love you too, Khalid,” to his ear as she buried her head into his shoulder. 

\--------------

Edelgard looked at the door with trepidation, the Emperor of Flames mask and her dagger held against her chest as she shakes with fear. “This needs to happen, Edelgard,” she assures herself, “You can do this.” She nervously knocks on the door, her hands shaking as she does. 

“Who is it?” A tired voice calls from inside. 

“I-it’s Edelgard,” she calls back, part of her half tempted to run away down the hall should he try and hurt her while opening the door. 

The door opens, revealing a very disheveled Dimitri, the bags under his eyes seeming more prominent than ever while the eyes themselves were very bloodshot. “Do you need something?” 

“I… wanted to talk to you,” Edelgard says, looking up at Dimitri’s almost intimidating appearance. ‘Was he always this intimidating?” 

Dimitri stares at her for a few minutes, then surprisingly says, “I don’t want to right now.” 

He proceeds to close the door, but Edelgard catches it with her foot and says, “Wait….” 

Dimitri pauses and looks at her expectantly as she looks at the ground, saying, “Why?” 

“I…” Edelgard takes a second to think of her answers and says, “I feel like I didn’t say enough while we were in the chapel room. I was… hoping we could talk some more.” 

Edelgard can’t read Dimitri’s expression, but she can hear the door handle creek ominously on the other side as his grip tightens around it. ‘Isn’t this what you want?’ she thinks to herself, ‘Why don’t you want to talk to me now?’ 

After a few tense moments, Dimitri lets out a sigh and steps back, allowing Edelgard to enter. She quietly steps in and places the mask and dagger on the desk inside. The room Dimitri had chosen for the night was small but surprisingly well decorated; granted, the decorations suffered from nearly a millennium’s worth of decay, but it was filled out. It had a desk that still stood, a very old bed that likely couldn’t handle anyone’s weight, and an old shelf where Dimitri had placed his belongings. What Dimitri had been doing in here for the last hour was anyone’s guess, though, as his pack was still closed and the bed seemed undisturbed. 

“If you have anything to say, say it now,” Dimitri says, “If not, I don’t want you in here.” 

“Before I do,” Edelgard begins, “I already said this, and I already know your answer, I just want to say I’m sorry, for everything that I have done to you.” 

“‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t change what happened in Duscur,” Dimitri says almost immediately, his voice low, “It doesn’t change the fact that you had hired a bandit to kill me, that you were willing to declare war on the church and lay ruin to Fodlan all because of… because of…” Dimitri’s rage subsides as he remembers what Flayn told everyone, and he whispers, “Because… you were right to distrust them and… I wouldn’t have known better.” 

Edelgard is surprised by Dimitri’s change of perspective, and incredibly thankful that Flayn was willing to share something so personal like that in the first place. “Even then,” Edelgard says, “It still doesn’t justify my actions. I only did so because I’m a stubborn, selfish princess who had grown tired of life at that point.” She turns her head away from Dimitri, her voice growing quiet, “After everything that I had been through, I was ready to accept death as an outcome, because it would’ve ended my suffering sooner.” 

“What happened?” Dimitri asks. 

“I already told you what happened,” Edelgard says, but Dimitri shakes his head at her. 

“You didn’t tell me everything,” Dimitri steps closer to her, “All you’ve done is say that you suffered immensely, but you haven't said anything about how you suffered.” 

Edelgard looks away completely, the memories already flooding her mind as her scars start flaring with dull pain. She closes her eyes and says, “Turn around.” 

“What?” 

“Please,” Edelgard says, and Dimitri steps back and faces the door. Edelgard turns around herself, looking away from Dimitri as she undoes the buttons on her jacket. ‘You are a moron!’ Her inner demons shout at her while she removes her jacket, ‘Why are you even doing this?!’ 

‘Because he deserves to know,’ she answers as she lowers the straps of her coveralls, ‘He has to know what I’ve faced.’ She lowers her coveralls just enough so that her back down to her waist is exposed, but she holds the front up to cover her chest while holding her jacket in her hands. “O-o-ok,” she forces out of her mouth, “Y-you can look.” She closes her eyes, and expectedly hears a loud gasp from Dimitri. 

“Wha… what the Hell?” He says, his footsteps slowly growing closer. She unexpectedly feels his fingers trace one of the more prominent scars that paralleled her spine, though she doesn’t feel pain as expected. “What did they do to you?” 

Edelgard takes a shaky breath before she speaks, “I don’t remember much of anything from my childhood. I only remember pain; excruciating, agonizing pain as they injected me, dissected me, tortured me.” As phantom pain from a few scars starts flaring, particularly around her abdomen, Dimitri’s hand moves to her shoulder, resting against a collection of track marks. 

“Why?” Dimitri asks. 

“I remember Thales, their leader, said it was to make us stronger,” Edelgard whispers, “But in the end, I was the only one to survive.” Edelgard feels tears roll down her cheek, “I was the third youngest of eleven children, eleven. And they all died, or fell into insanity because of them and their LIES!” Edelgard shouts the last word, and she feels Dimitri’s hand pull away when she does. “I was the only one left, a bearer of two crests, and the scars to prove it.” 

“T-two crests?” Dimitri asks in shock. 

“A minor Crest of Seiros,” Edelgard says quietly, “And the major Crest of Flames, the real reason I could talk to Sothis first. Once they allowed me to leave, I had little left to live for.” Edelgard replaces the straps of her coveralls and dons her jacket, buttoning it up as she whispers, “I just wanted to die and be forgotten by the world, but they wouldn’t let me. They convinced me to make their goals my own, and in my anger, I blamed the church for what happened.” 

Edelgard stood in silence once she stopped speaking, holding her hands at her chest as she waited for Dimitri’s response. She prepares to give up and leave, but before she can move, she feels Dimitri’s arms hold her, his chest to her back, as he buries his head into her shoulder. She doesn’t move her head, listening to the light sniffling coming from him as his tears leave her shoulder wet. She opens her mouth to say something, but five words leave her speechless. 

“I… am so sorry, El.” 

_ EL! _

\--------------

_ Young Edelgard steps out of the carriage, looking up at the intimidating castle before her.  _

_ “Uncle,” she asks, looking up at Volkhard, “Why are we here?”  _

__

_ “There is a ball, El,” Volkhard says, “We’re here simply to enjoy ourselves and perhaps find a few friends for you.”  _

_ “Oh, ok!” Edelgard says excitedly, a slight hop in her step as she looks up at the castle.  _

\--------------

_ It’s me El! _

\--------------

_ “What’s your name?” Edelgard asks a boy with blond hair.  _

_ “Um, Dimitri?” The boy replies, rather nervous about the girl in front of him.  _

_ “Dimitri?” The boy nods at her as she says, “Mind if I just called you Dima?”  _

_ “Dima?” Dimitri asks incredulously, to which Edelgard nods excitedly.  _

_ “Yeah, and you can call me El.”  _

\--------------

“No…” Edelgard whispers, visions of her lost past playing in her eyes…

\--------------

_ Edelgard is with Dimitri in one of the disused rooms of the castle, her uncle often leaving her here so he could do his work in peace. She is trying to teach the boy how to dance, but she trips over his errant foot and almost falls, again.  _

_ “Dima!” Edelgard shouts exasperatedly, “At this rate, you’ll never learn to dance!”  _

_ “I-I’m sorry,” Dimitri says while holding up his hands defensively, “I’ve never really had to dance before and…”  _

_ “Hmmm,” Edelgard holds her chin in her hand as she asks, “Have you ever sparred before?”  _

_ “Yes, actually,” Dimitri nods, “Against Felix in fact.”  _

_ “Think of dancing like sparring,” Edelgard says, “Just a lot less dangerous and a little more fun.”  _

_ “Think like sparring,” Dimitri repeats, “I think I understand.”  _

_ “Good,” Edelgard says, taking Dimitri’s hands as she says, “Ok, from the top.”  _

\--------------

Edelgard reaches her hand up, grabbing Dimitri’s arm as she quietly says, “D-Dima?” 

\--------------

_ “What do you mean we have to leave?” Edelgard pleads with her uncle.  _

_ “It is necessary,” Volkhard replies coldly, “Your father has requested you return post haste, and I don’t plan to keep him waiting.”  _

_ “Ok,” Edelgard says with defeat before asking, “Can I say goodbye to Dimitri, at least.”  _

_ “We won’t leave for another week due to the weather,” Volkhard says with little care, “You’ll have plenty of time to say your goodbyes then.”  _

_ Edelgard just nods, saying, “Thank you,” before retiring to her room, a few tears rolling down her cheek.  _

__ \--------------

“El?” Dimitri asks, lifting his head to look at her. 

Edelgard just covers her mouth, one last vision playing for her…

\--------------

_ “Do you really have to leave, El?” Dimitri asks while holding something behind his back.  _

_ “Yes, Dima,” Edelgard replies, looking at the ground sorrowfully. “I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t. It’s… secret.”  _

_ “I understand,” Dimitri pulls a dagger from behind his back, “Before you go, I want to give you something.”  _

_ “A dagger?” Edelgard asks, tilting her head at it.  _

_ “A silver dagger,” Dimitri explains, holding it out to her, “I want you to have this.”  _

_ She reaches out to take the dagger from Dimitri, her uncle groaning loudly behind her. “Please hurry up!”  _

_ “I am, uncle,” Edelgard shoots back before asking Dimitri, “Why are you giving me this?”  _

_ “To cut your own path, of course,” Dimitri answers with a smile, “Besides, someday, maybe you can cut a path back to me.”  _

_ Edelgard holds the dagger to her chest, offering a silent prayer to the Goddess that, someday, she will cut her way back to Dimitri. “Thank you, Dima,” Edelgard says as she embraces her friend. As they separate, Edelgard decides to sneak a little kiss on his cheek, causing the boy to blush profusely as she runs back to her uncle, eager to tell him about her gift…  _

\--------------

‘No… don’t run to him.’ Edelgard loses the strength to stand, forcing Dimitri to hold her tighter as he lowers her to her knees. 

“El?” Dimitri asks again, somehow knowing what her childhood nickname is. 

_ It’s me! _

__ ‘It… it can’t be…’ Edelgard shakes her head, refusing to believe the visions she had. It simply was impossible. 

_ It’s me El! For the love of the Goddess, wake up! _

\--------------

_ El found herself laying down in an open field of roses, sunflowers, and blue tulips. She sits up, very confused as to what has happened. ‘Why am I here? I was going to bed at home after having tea with uncle Volkhard. The tea did taste funny, though. Maybe it was bad and I just got sick.’  _

_ She stands up, and looks in all directions, finding a hill to her right. She starts walking to this hill, hoping to get a better look around this field. As she nears the hill, she spots a figure at the top, looking for something.  _

_ “Hey!” El calls out, “Who are you?”  _

_ The figure stands upright, and looks down at her, though she can’t make out any features from this far away. However, there was no way she could ever mistake his voice.  _

_ “El!” the figure calls as it barrels down the hill towards her.  _

_ El gasps, recognizing him instantly as she starts running to him as well, “Dima!”  _

_ As they draw closer together, El can start seeing him better, his bowl-cut blond hair blowing as he runs, his blue eyes filled with relief. But as they run to each other, El starts to notice that Dima seems to be growing older as he runs. In fact, she looks down briefly and notices that she is also growing older. Why this was the case, she didn’t know, and quite frankly, she didn’t care. She had found her friend, and she was going to see him.  _

_ Looking back up, Dima now looked like a young adult, and El was sure she looked the same. They slow down just enough to avoid hurting each other as she jumps into his embrace _

\--------------

Dimitri stays silent, his arms loosening from Edelgard as she seems to barely keep balance in front of him, swaying back and forth. ‘Did she really say it?’ he asks himself, ‘Does she remember?’ 

Edelgard slowly turns to face him, excruciatingly slow. He looks at her face once he can see, and her eyes tell him everything, wide with shock, and recognition. 

She stares at him, slowly bringing her hand up to his cheek, and barely whispers, “Dima?” 

Dimitri just brings his hand to rest it on hers, only nodding silently. As if a dam had burst, tears started flowing freely from Edelgard’s eyes, her breath quickly turning to sobs of pure, unfiltered regret as she buried her head in his chest, her cries echoing loudly in the room. Dimitri quickly embraces her, stroking her hair in a vain effort to comfort her as he also feels tears running down his cheek, his only thoughts being, ‘She remembers… she remembers…’ 

\--------------

Linhardt steps away from the door, immensely worried about the princess crying inside. ‘Did Dimitri say something to her? Did he do something to her? Did she do something to him? Should I even ask?’ 

Deciding he needs a second opinion, he walks down the hall to find someone else, and runs into Hilda, almost literally, as she turns the corner. 

“Whoops!” Hilda exclaims as she stops abruptly, “Sorry about that.” 

“It’s ok,” Linhardt says, “I need to talk to you about something.” 

“Same here actually,” Hilda says, “But you first.” 

Before Linhardt could open his mouth, Ashe calls from down another hallway, “Hey, have any of you seen Hubert?” 

“I have,” Hilda says as the boy runs up to them, “Why?” 

Ashe shakes his head as he says, “I found Bernadetta curled up in a room and I couldn’t get anything out of her. She just kept saying ‘I shouldn’t have done that,’ over and over.” 

“I would be worried,” Linhardt says with a crooked eyebrow, “But that’s normal for her.” 

Hilda, though, gets a questioning look as she says, “You know, I actually found Hubert in a similar way.” 

“You did?” Ashe asks. 

Hilda nods as she says, “Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so red without shouting at someone.” 

“You don’t think he did something to hurt Bernadetta, do you?” Linhardt asks worriedly. 

“Well, I thought so, until I looked at his eyes, and they seemed more shocked than anything,” Hilda says, “He didn’t even acknowledge me when I entered the room to look at him. He was just whispering to himself about…, I think loyalty and… something about Bernadetta.” 

Linhardt glances at Ashe for a brief moment, and says, “Do you think… Bernadetta confessed something to him?” 

“If Bernadetta is hiding in a room and Hubert is unresponsive, she definitely said something to leave him speechless,” Ashe suggests. 

Hilda rests her chin in her hand as she theorizes, “Or… maybe she did something to him….” 

“Are y’all really that dense?” Sothis suddenly asks, causing Linhardt and Hilda to jump while Ashe just looks at his friends with concern. 

“What happened?” he asks. 

“Sothis,” Hilda answers as she calms down. 

“Did you see anything?” Linhardt asks the spirit, to which she just chuckles. 

“I’m not saying anything,” Sothis says dismissively, “All I’m going to say is that you all need to be a little less dense and maybe read the rooms a bit better.” 

“I don’t follow,” Hilda replies, causing Sothis to mutter something quietly under her breath. 

“Anyway, were any of you able to find Edelgard?” Sothis asks once she’s collected. 

“I did,” Linhardt says, “But when I found the room she was in, I just heard her and Dimitri crying in there.” 

“You did?” Ashe asks. 

“Yep,” Linhardt replies with a nod, “I wasn’t sure if they said something to each other and I didn’t want to barge in there, so I came looking for you guys.” 

Hilda tilts her head at Linhardt while Ashe just looks at the floor, whispering, “What did they do to each other?” 

“Leave them be,” Sothis says, drawing the crest bearers’ attention, “They have a lot of things to work through, and… I am certain that this is a good thing.” 

Linhardt just shakes his head at the spirit and says, “But what if…” 

“But nothing,” Sothis interrupts, “This has been a long time coming, and they don’t need anyone disturbing them.” 

“In that case,” Hilda says with a sigh, “Were you able to find Byleth?” 

“She’s… preoccupied,” Sothis says a little too innocently. 

“With what?” Hilda asks. 

Sothis just giggles and says, “If I told you, she’d have to kill you.” 

“What?” Hilda asks again, her face growing pale, to which Sothis just starts laughing uncontrollably.

“Relax,” Sothis gets out as she calms down, “She’s not that cruel, but I think she’d prefer it if you didn’t ask her anything. She’ll let you all know once she’s ready.” 

“What about Claude then?” Linhardt asks. 

“What the Hell are you all talking about?” Ashe just asks, completely confused since he can’t hear Sothis. 

\--------------

Yuri steps over a broken door, entering a severely damaged room as broken glass crumbles under his boots. ‘Fuck me.’ 

“This is bad,” Balthus says from behind him, “It looks like they hit the supplies first.” 

“It’s what I would do,” Yuri says as he picks up the only intact mason jar of pickled onions, stowing it in his rucksack, “Starving your enemy is sure to win you victory.” 

“Yuri,” Constance says at the door, “We found a few survivors.” 

Yuri follows Constance down the hall to another room. Inside he finds Hapi tending to a wounded bandit, one he recognized as Hunter. On the far wall, he sees Hunter’s friend, Brock, as well as the two priests, Julias and Ralph, sorting out their remaining supplies. 

“Can any of you tell me what happened?” Yuri asks the remaining survivors. 

“A little, but not much,” Julias says, “We were sleeping in here when we heard shouting outside. Hunter decided to take a look out there and got hit by… something.” 

“What were you hit by?” Yuri asks the bandit.

“I think an arrow grazed my shoulder from behind me,” he answers as he rubs his still sore arm, “I risked looking back and saw someone with a mask.” 

“What kind of mask?” Constance asks. 

“I couldn’t tell,” Hunter says, “He was too far away.” 

“After that, we just locked the door and started praying,” Ralph adds, “Whoever was doing this wasn’t trying to kill anyone, only wound them. The screaming from outside was far too loud.” 

“After that, we heard them smashing the remaining supplies,” Brock says, “But… then we heard Aelfric.” 

“Was he taken by force?” Yuri asks as he moves over to a wall. 

“I don’t think so,” Brock answers, “From what he was saying, about some chalice and this woman named ‘Sitri,’ I think he sold us out.” 

Yuri’s hands clenched tightly into a fist, his eyes filled with immense rage. He quickly turns and punches the wall, hard enough to fracture a few bones in his knuckles as he exclaims, “THAT SON OF A BITCH!”

Yuri breathes heavily, his teeth bared. ‘They must’ve taken the chalice when we weren’t looking. They must’ve!’ 

Yuri feels his now injured hand being taken by someone, and his eyes snap to Hapi as she casts a low-level healing spell. Yuri’s expression softens, the pain in his hand subsiding as he nods thankfully at her. 

“Yuri,” Balthus says from the doorway, “They damaged a lot, but not all of it. From what I’ve counted, we have about a week’s worth of food between everyone, both up here and downstairs.” 

“There’s more downstairs?” Julias asks. 

“The student’s from the academy,” Constance answers, “They helped us when we got into trouble.” 

“A week is all we need,” Yuri announces, drawing everyone’s attention as his more calm demeanor takes over, “Let’s gather what we can and get downstairs quickly. If we hope to survive now, the sooner we move down, the better.” 

“I’ll get started then,” Balthus says with a small smile, heading out the door as Constance follows. 

“At least allow me to help you,” she says as she chases after him. 

“I should be fine,” Hunter says, “I’ll lend a hand.” He looks over at the others and asks, “You guys coming or what?” 

Julias, Ralph, and Brock say nothing as they gather what they already have and make to follow Hunter as he leaves the room, leaving Yuri and Hapi alone. 

“Hapi,” Yuri says, “I’m ok now.” 

“You’re not,” Hapi whispers, “Not until we find Aelfric, right?” 

Yuri looks away briefly before nodding at Hapi, and she lets go of his hand as she says, “In that case, don’t fight him alone. You still need everyone.” 

“I know,” Yuri says, “Let’s just help with the supplies so we can get out of here.” 

Hapi nods and steps out of the room with Yuri close behind, the latter thinking, ‘I really do pray that we can get out of here before he finds us.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just can't let anyone catch a break, can I?  
> Anyway, this chapter is actually a long time coming since a few of the scenes presented here have been in the works since the start of this story. To finally put them to words has been immensely satisfying and I look forward to jotting down the other scenes still in the works, including several upcoming battles. If this doesn't give you a glimpse into my twisted mind, I don't know what will.  
> With that being said, I hope everyone enjoyed this and I hope to see you all next week.


	28. Never Too Late

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Maybe we'll turn it all around 'cause it's not too late, it's never too late.”- Three Days Grace

Edelgard started stirring, her eyes fluttering open. She feels something moving under her, and she looks up to see that she is resting against Dimitri’s chest. ‘I’m resting… against….’ Under any other circumstance, she would’ve immediately sprung away from the prince and dashed out of the room, running for her dear life. But as memories from the night before return to her, she just rests her head against his chest again, ashamed and guilty for everything that has happened. 

She feels Dimitri start waking up himself, but she doesn’t look up to meet his eyes, and simply stares at nothing as he surely looks down at her with initial confusion. 

“El?” He asks quietly, filling her heart again with shame and regret. 

Edelgard closes her eyes and whispers, “I don’t deserve this.” 

Dimitri doesn’t answer immediately, and she can feel his left arm wrap around her as he whispers a few seconds later, “Maybe not… but I can’t say I deserve it either.” 

Edelgard just hums as they return to silence, keeping an ear on the door should anyone come looking for them. 

“You know…” Dimitri begins, Edelgard only barely listening, “After everything that has happened to us… after everything that we’ve done… maybe we aren’t as cut out to be royals as we should be.” 

Edelgard, confused by his statement, pushes herself up and sits as she asks, “What do you mean?” 

Dimitri sits up as well, and explains, “You are the sole surviving heir to the Adrestian Empire, and I am the sole survivor of a convoy that saw the death of my father and one of my closest friends. As a result of those things, you went on to plan a war with the Church that would’ve dragged in the rest of Fodlan, and I became a monster on the battlefield, and not in a good way.” 

“And what does that make us?” Edelgard asks. 

Dimitri looks down at the floor and quietly says, “Broken…” 

Edelgard looks at the ground, his single word echoing in her mind. ‘What kind of Empress will I be if I’m broken?’ She asks herself, not wanting to know the answer. She closes her eyes, refusing to look up at Dimitri. Then, unexpectedly, he takes her hand in his, and he whispers, “But that doesn’t mean we can’t fix us.” 

Edelgard looks up at Dimitri, seeing a faint smirk on his face. Edelgard looks away and asks, “How? All I’ve ever done is hurt you.”

“Do you remember what happened in Gaspard?” He asks, “What happened when… Lonato taunted us?” 

Edelgard remembers back to that day, the day she allowed herself to become vulnerable and embrace Dimitri. “Yeah…” she answers quietly, looking away further. 

Dimitri brings his hand to her chin, bringing her eyes back to his, and says, “If you hadn’t stopped me when you did, I’m almost certain Ashe and Felix would’ve also joined the dead that day. When I become a monster like that, I can’t distinguish friend from foe.” Dimitri sniffles lightly, shaking his head as several dark memories return, “And yet, you stopped me. Yes, you said you did it only to take a hit to try and get me to come back around, but you threw yourself at me and stopped me in my tracks.” 

“I didn’t throw myself at you,” Edelgard murmurs irritatedly. 

“But you can’t deny that you held me in place, literally,” Dimitri counters, his hand moving to her shoulder, “Listen… I know that you think that everything that you have done is unforgivable, but… after everything that has happened in these last several weeks alone, after Flayn told us the truth she kept hidden, after learning exactly what you’ve been through,” Dimitri’s grip on her shoulder tightens as he bows his head, several tears dropping to the floor, his voice barely a whisper, “I forgive you…” 

His words stabbed through her heart like a lance, but not painfully. It was as if his words had killed the demons that haunted her day and night. A sudden wave of relief washed over her as she watched Dimitri. She brings her arms up and pulls him into an embrace, burying her head into his shoulder as he did the same. As his warmth filled her soul, she said, “There is nothing that can bring back what we once had, but I want to build something new in its place with you. Through hellfire and darkness,” Edelgard’s grip tightens as she whispers, “Thank you.” 

They remain like this for several minutes, neither wanting to separate; at least until Edelgard’s eyes lock with the mask. The mask that has brought pain and suffering unto too many innocent lives. A mask that she hid behind so she could plan her goals in the dark. A mask that needed to be broken once and for all. 

Edelgard pulls from the embrace and grabs the mask, glaring into its hollow eyes. “Never again,” she whispers, trying in vain to break the mask, but the material proves too strong for her, and she huffs a tired breath. 

Dimitri coughs and she looks up at him, his hand extended towards her. She nods and hands the mask over to him. “This is for father,” he says as he looks at the face of the mask, cracks already forming as he bends it, “This is for Glenn, and this is for Duscur. I will avenge you all.” With a resounding snap, the mask breaks, small fragments flying across the room. Edelgard closes her eyes as small chunks hit her face, but she is otherwise unharmed. Dimitri gives one last curt nod and tosses the two halves across the room to be forgotten. Dimitri stands up after, extending his hand to Edelgard. She grins as she accepts, pulling herself up before her gaze returns to the silver dagger he had gifted her many years ago. 

She picks it up gently, examining the ornate handle and sheath that it sits in. She hears Dimitri chuckle lightly and she throws a stern glare at him as she asks, “What’s so funny?” 

“Well, I was just thinking, we’ll need to  _ cut a path _ out of here,” he answers mischievously, “So, between you and Sothis I think you’ve got it covered.” 

Edelgard rolls her eyes at the boy as she loops the sheath to her belt as she says, “Have you been taking lessons from Claude recently?” 

“Not really,” Dimitri says with a shrug, “But he does tend to rub off on people. Maybe you picked up his overly analytical mindset.” 

“Goddess, I hope not,” Edelgard replies as she reaches for the door handle, “I’d become insufferable if I did.” She opens the door and finds a rather cross-looking Claude on the other side. 

“What were you two saying about me?” He asks as he crooks his eyebrows. 

“That you're insufferably smart and optimistic,” Dimitri answers immediately. 

“And that you have a tendency to rub off on people that spend too much time with you,” Edelgard adds immediately after, not at all phased by his presence. “How long have you been here?” 

“Long enough to know that neither you nor Dimitri is a major threat to Fodlan anymore,” Claude answers with a cheeky grin, “And yes, Byleth knows as well. She was here earlier, but Yuri needed to talk to her.” 

“Yuri?” Dimitri asks, “I thought he had gone up.” 

“He had,” Claude answers as a frown appears on his face, “But something went wrong.” 

\--------------

“*Sigh* Son of a bitch,” Sothis whispers once Yuri finishes explaining what’s happened on the floors above. 

“We only have one weeks worth of supplies left?” Byleth asks, to which Yuri nods grimly. 

“Unfortunately,” he answers, “I’m fairly confident it will last us long enough to get out of here, but that is if TWSITD hasn’t left any calling cards for us on the way down.” 

“In all likelihood, they will,” Sothis says with a sigh, “Our best bet right now is to get to the entrance that can be reached by something flying and get help from there.” 

“Can’t you go up?” Byleth asks. 

Sothis sighs again and explains, “The choices we have right now are either my early reveal to Rhea and subsequent arrest of everyone down here for knowing too much, or having the perfect scout to go down and report on TWSITD’s movements below us because I am certain that they are below us now.” 

Byleth and Yuri ponder for a minute before the latter says, “If Constance’s pegasus is still there, we can have her and someone else fly up to report where we are, maybe even bring a few more supplies and people down for us so we can push onward.” 

“And definitely report on TWSITD’s movements, have an expeditionary force push from below and meet us halfway with TWSITD pinned between us,” Sothis quickly plans, “We won’t even have to reveal me until after we get out of here!” 

“And what about Edelgard and Flayn?” Byleth asks, “They’re with us now, and if someone is joining us when we send for supplies and back up, they will most certainly know about them being down here.” 

“I’ve already accounted for that,” Sothis replies, “And Edelgard and I discussed this at length while we were down here. In her words, she’s tired of hiding behind a mask. If anyone finds out about her, so be it. Besides, we have that plan for when we confront Rhea in place, so the sooner other people learn the  _ full _ truth, the better.” 

Byleth nods at the Goddess and says, “In that case, your plan is a go.” 

Yuri closes his eyes and says, “The plan might work, but that’s only if Constance’s pegasus is still there. For all we know, TWSITD could’ve killed it or forced it to fly away.” 

“Well, let’s try to be optimistic and see if it’s still there then,” Sothis replies, “In fact, I’ll go ahead and scout a route down while you guys bring everyone else up to speed on this, alright?” 

“Whatever you say,” Byleth nods as she watches Sothis dart away. 

“Did we miss the staff meeting?” Claude suddenly asks from the door, Dimitri and Edelgard behind him. 

“Yep,” Byleth answers, causing Claude to deflate before her eyes drift over to the royals behind him. Both are shifting nervously, neither meeting her eyes as she asks, “Are you two alright?” 

The pair share a brief look with each other, and Byleth can just make out a faint grin on their faces as they look back at her and nod, Edelgard saying, “We should be.” 

Byleth nods back as a faint grin of her own appears, her mind jumping for pure joy at this. ‘With that, phase 3 of my master plan is complete,’ Byleth tells herself. 

However, as if to kill the mood, Yuri says, “Good for you, we’ve got a problem to deal with.” 

\--------------

“Only one week?” Hilda exclaims, the remaining students equally in shock. 

“One week is all we need,” Yuri explains, “It will be more than enough to get us down to the flight entrance and send for more supplies and assistance if necessary.” 

“And what if-” Ashe begins, but Byleth interrupts. 

“If there are traps, Sothis will let us know,” she says, “we’ve already discussed this, and we concluded that it would be best to keep her down here with us and just send someone up at the cliff entrance.” 

“Via pegasus, right?” Bernadetta asks. 

Constance nods in response and says, “My pegasus specifically, yes. Otherwise, we’d have to tough it out on our own down there.” 

“What about when we encounter a fight?” Linhardt asks, “What if someone gets injured beyond my or Hapi’s help?” 

“Then we pray that we can push through and get them the help they need,” Yuri answers, “We have few options and little time left for this. If we want to survive at this point, we need to move now.” 

“I need all of you to go ahead and pack what you can,” Byleth adds, “Once everyone is ready, we will be pushing down until we reach the cliff entrance. Any questions?” Everyone remains silent, and Byleth says, “Good. Grab what you can. We leave in twenty minutes.” 

\--------------

Byleth ties off her bag, hefting it onto her shoulder as Claude does the same across from her. She picks up the Sword of the Creator, lashing the sheath to her belt as Claude asks her, “What do you suppose your father is going to say once he finds out about us?” 

“He’ll chase you down and remind you just why he’s called the Blade Breaker,” Byleth answers without hesitation, “If anything, he’ll pin you to a wall and skin you alive.” 

“Ever the optimist, huh?” Claude says as he throws a playful glare at her. Byleth chuckles at his look as he slings his bag over his shoulder as he asks, “But seriously, what will he do?” 

“To be honest,” Byleth says, “He probably won’t mind at all. If I know him well enough, he’ll start crying when he does find out, because regardless of how gruff he can be, he does have a soft side to him that he doesn’t normally show.” 

Claude just says, “Yeah, that sounds a little bit more like him,” before taking Byleth’s hands in his and resting his head against hers and whispering, “Once we get out, he should at least know. He deserves it.” 

“Only if we can get him to stay silent about it,” Byleth whispers back before planting a brief kiss on his lips. They pull each other into a deep embrace, praying their future didn’t end in this Abyss. 

Then, just to kill the mood again, they hear from next to them, “Aw… that was cute.” 

Byleth glares at Sothis as she watches the young lovers, though Byleth couldn’t stay too mad at her with the goofy grin she had. Claude just rolls his eyes at the comment and says, “From what Byleth told me, I think you're jealous of us.” 

“Jealous how, Khalid?” Sothis asks mockingly, crossing her arms and pouting. 

“Jealous because you’ve got a crush on a particular student named Ignatz,” Claude teases, “And unfortunately, he’s crestless, so you have no way of talking to him.” 

Just then, the door slams open, revealing a thoroughly confused Dimitri and a very shocked Edelgard, donned in her armor though the feathers and helmet are missing, as she exclaims, “You have a crush on who??” 

“And who’s Khalid?” Dimitri asks after, causing Claude to facepalm in defeat as Sothis blushes profusely. 

“You know, I think I hear one of the other students calling me, so I’m just going to let you handle it,” Byleth says as she quickly walks out, leaving Sothis to send a semi-spiteful glare at her while Claude just grins and shakes his head as she leaves. 

Byleth walks down the hall, thankful that neither Edelgard nor Dimitri tried to stop her. Besides, she and Claude agreed the night before that he should admit to Dimitri his true heritage and tentatively promise to build a peaceful future between Almyra and Fodlan. As she walks, she notices Bernadetta exiting a room in a huff, an alarmingly angry look on her face as her fists are clenched tightly. She throws one last spiteful look into the room and starts marching stiffly down the hall towards Byleth. She steps back to let the younger girl through, and just hears as she walks past, “I’m no one’s property.” 

Now very concerned, Byleth peaks into the room to find Yuri in a daze on the floor, picking himself up as he rubs his slowly swelling eye. He looks up, and spots Byleth at the door, though he doesn’t acknowledge her as he just stares at the wall behind her. 

“What did you do to her?” Byleth asks hesitantly, worried about the response. 

Yuri just shakes his head and says, “I shouldn’t have said that…” 

Byleth tilts her head and asks, “Said what?” 

Again, Yuri shakes his head as he stands, saying, “Once she’s calmed down, please tell her I still want to talk to her.” 

Byleth just steps away from the door, allowing him to leave as she says, “I’ll… see what I can do…” and he walks the other way down the hall, still rubbing his blackened eye. 

\--------------

Sothis phases through a door into what is obviously a large stable, all but one of the stalls vacant. At the far end of the room sits a pair of massive doors, large enough that a dragon could fit through. As Sothis inspects each of the stalls, she can hear the nearby black pegasus winny at something but figures it can just sense its master nearby. She carefully inspects each stall, ensuring that they are secure and empty. Once she’s satisfied, she rushes back to the main entrance and announces, “All clear. You can come in.” 

The doors fly open as Constance runs over to the occupied stable, the pegasus excitedly flapping its wings and prancing once she arrives. She runs her hands through its mane and says, “Yes, I’m back. Have you been good? Have you been safe?” 

“If only she were like that with other people,” Hubert observes as he shakes his head. 

“If she were,” Yuri counters, “She’d be insufferable. At least we can blame her noble upbringing for her normal behavior.” 

Everyone files in, dispersing as they appreciate the more open space. Balthus pulls Dedue and Dimitri along further ahead to get the doors open as everyone else settles for a few minutes. 

“These doors are a bit heavy, but shouldn’t be a problem for us,” Bathus says, “I’m surprised they haven't placed traps in this place yet.” 

“Maybe that’s the intent,” Dimitri theorizes, “They know you and the other Ashen Wolves are with us and they need you guys alive for that rite. As a consequence, they can’t hurt us either.” 

“Good point,” Bathus replies as they pull on the doors, opening the space to the landing outside. Once open, Ashe, Hilda, and Flayn step towards the edge of the landing to look down. 

“Oh, wow,” Hilda says with amazement, “We are high up.” 

“That’s just more floors we have to deal with until we escape,” Ashe says disdainfully, “Why can’t we just get help and fly out from here?” 

“Because TWSITD, that’s why,” Sothis says from over the cliff face, Hilda repeating what she says to Ashe, “They are below us, I’ve confirmed that. If we just go up, escape and leave them down there with no plan on dealing with them, eventually, they are going to commandeer this stable and swarm the monastery above us in a matter of hours. By staying down here, we will expend fewer resources, have an already established foothold above TWSITD, and, if the lower entrance hasn’t already been taken over or sealed by TWSITD, we can trap them between us and wipe them out or, at the very least, capture a few of them.” 

“But they can teleport,” Flayn counters, “Trapping them won’t do us much good.” 

“Yee of little faith, my fellow immortal,” Sothis replies with an unseen wink, “Edelgard and I have been discussing this and we may have a counter enchantment ready for just the occasion.” 

“A counter enchantment?” Dimitri asks from nearby, “As in something that can keep them from teleporting?” 

“Exactly,” Sothis says, “I filled in Byleth on the finer details if you want to discuss it with her, but Edelgard knows the runes and materials needed to pull it off.” 

“I’ll take your word for it,” Dimitri replies as he looks up, spotting the bridge that connects the academy to the chapel. “No wonder we never knew this was down here. The bridge is built right over us.” 

“Wow,” Hilda says as she looks up at the bridge as well, “Hey Edelgard, you should come and see this.” 

“No thanks,” Edelgard shouts from across the stables, “I’m good.” Hilda looks back and notices that Edelgard had her back against the farthest wall of the stables, the color of her face noticeably pale as she stares at the opening fearfully. 

“Of all things, she fears heights?” Hilda asks, mildly embarrassed for the princess. 

“Unfortunately,” Dimitri and Sothis say in tandem, both also getting an embarrassed look as they glance back at Edelgard. 

Nearby, closer to the occupied stable where Constance is getting her pegasus ready for flight, Byleth is explaining a few things to the four remaining Abysians. 

“So let me get this straight,” Brock begins, pointing his thumb back at Edelgard, “The princess is the one that hired us and killed Kostas.” 

“Yep,” Byleth answers. 

“And the girl,” Brock now points at Flayn by the ledge, “Is actually a thousand-year-old dragon.” 

“Yep.”

Brock then points to Byleth and says, “And you have the ghost of the supposed Goddess tied to you.” Byleth remains silent this time and just nods. “And… there is nothing else of major note that we should know.” 

“Nothing that I can think of,” Byleth replies with a shrug. She leans over to look at Edelgard and asks, “Did I miss anything important?” 

“Nope,” Edelgard replies while shaking her head, slowly approaching the group gathered while throwing hesitant glances at the opened doors. She stops in front of the two former bandits and says, “Listen, I understand if you hold a grudge or even a death wish over me, but your former leader, Kostas, would’ve been killed anyway once the church reached him. At the time of his death, I was beyond livid with his performance and couldn’t restrain myself when I confronted him.” 

“We don’t really hold a grudge at all,” Hunter replies, “If anything, we ought to thank you for taking care of him.” 

“Yeah,” Brock adds, “If that other asshole hadn’t taken- *cough* excuse my language, but if he hadn’t taken over, we wouldn’t have been put on that patrol that got us knocked out by one of your classmates. Hell, we probably wouldn’t even have known what was going on until it was too late if Kostas had been alive at the time.” 

“Besides,” Hunter says, “From what we’ve heard, you’ve had to take care of a few demons yourself recently, so if anything, what happened happened and we can’t change it. The only thing we can do is take what's left and move forward.” 

Edelgard nods at the pair and says, “Thank you for understanding. I doubt our trials will be over any time soon, I dare say they are only beginning, but I’m certain we’ll pull through.” 

“Exactly,” Byleth agrees, “And right now, our primary goal is to get as much help as we can and hopefully get a few more supplies to keep pushing down to get rid of TWSITD from the Abyss.” 

Suddenly, Hilda shouts to the bridge above, “HELLLLOOOOO!!!”

Byleth just rolls her eyes and says, “This is where the fun begins,” as she walks over to the ledge, and Flayn steps back inside. 

\--------------

Cyril walks glumly across the bridge to the chapel, rubbing his eyes and yawning loudly. The last week had been rough not just on him, but everyone in the monastery. Once the dust settled from the attack and the investigation began, they found that Byleth, Claude, Dimitri, and several other students had gone missing. Initial fears were that they had gotten caught in the blasts and had been killed. Jeralt held out on hope, though, and prayed that they had simply left before the explosions took place, and Cyril knew why he thought that. He had been there when Byleth stormed into the Archbishop’s audience chamber, and he had left to get Hanneman for help. By the time he got back, the door had already been kicked off its hinge and Rhea had locked herself away in her room. It wasn’t until late that same night that the explosions went off, and Rhea refused to leave her room for any reason after the fact. 

She would allow people to enter, but unless they could offer any lead in the investigation, they were often sent away a few minutes later. Even Seteth, her most trusted advisor, had gotten the door from her more than once. Fed up with her behavior, he and Hanneman set up an expedition to hunt down those responsible for the attack. Most of the students volunteered for this expedition and had left almost a week ago, leaving behind Cyril due to his inexperience, Leonie and Lysithea due to their injuries, and Mercedes. Her initial excuse was so she could keep an eye on Leonie and Lysithea, but Cyril later learned that she had fallen into a deep depression once she learned just who was among those missing. As a result of this, Manuela had volunteered to be an additional healer for the expedition, with Captain Jeralt assigning Alois and Gilbert to also assist. Once things were settled, they set off the next day. 

Since then, Jeralt and everyone else that remained at the monastery set about cleaning the damage that had been left by the explosions. Cyril aches all over from just how much debris he had to move. He rolled his shoulder to relieve some of the pain, only for it to move down to his back. He stops at the middle of the bridge and sits down, resting his back against the wall. 

As he sits, he can hear the distinct thunk of wood against stone from his left. He looks over and sees Leonie approaching him, still walking with crutches as her injured leg is encased in layers of gauze and splints. 

“Hey,” she says gently, “Mind if I join you?” 

Cyril nods at her as she moves next to him. She takes both of her crutches in one hand and slowly lowers herself to the ground, wincing at the movement in her bound leg. Once she’s sat, she lets out a sigh of relief as the pain subsides. 

“How is it?” Cyril asks, his eyes staring at the bundle of gauze. 

“Hurts like Hell, and there’s nothing I can do about it,” Leonie answers, “Kind of wish it had been amputated by that beam and I walked around with a peg instead, but this is what fate had in store for me I guess.” 

Cyril nods at her and asks, “Do you think the others have found something yet?” 

“Who knows,” she replies, “They haven't sent back a report.” 

Cyril nods and looks at the ground, saying, “I tried talking to Rhea again today.” 

“Same story or something different?” 

“Same story,” he answers with a roll of his eyes, his voice growing louder with frustration as he speaks, “I go up, bring her food, she tells me to leave it by the door, I try asking her something, she tells me to leave, all without looking away from her window.” He slams his fist onto the ground, a sharp jolt of pain running up his arm, though this doesn't deter his irritation, “If she keeps doing this, everyone might leave the monastery and leave her defenseless. Why does she keep pushing everyone away when all we want to do is help her?!”

Cyril rubs his head, a few tears rolling down his cheek as he whispers, “Why does she not care anymore?” 

Cyril jumps slightly as Leonie wraps her arm around the boy, saying, “I don’t think it’s that she doesn’t care, I honestly think she’s just as scared as the rest of us. This monastery is supposed to be a safe haven for everyone who comes here, and a few days ago it got attacked destructively. Almost half of our classmates are missing, all the house leaders too, Flayn hasn’t been found yet, and Byleth….” Leonie goes silent, tears of her own forming after she says her professor’s name. “I… *sniff*... I just want them to be safe, too. We need to hold out hope for them. I know Rhea is just as worried as we are, she just might not like showing it.” 

Cyril wipes his tears away and nods appreciatively at Leonie, before spotting Lysithea and Mercedes approaching from across the bridge. They stop in front of the sitting pair as Lysithea asks, “Are you two alright?” 

“Just resting,” Leonie replies while shaking her crutches, “It really is a pain to walk with these all damn day.” 

“I’m just tired from the heavy lifting,” Cyril adds as he stands, offering a hand to Leonie to help her up. 

“I’d recommend stretching,” Mercedes adds quietly, “It helps keep your muscles from tightening up and cramping too much.” 

“I’ll try it,” Cyril replies once Leonie is standing, “I assume Jeralt wants another meeting?” 

“Yes,” Lysithea replies, “Alois just got back with the first report from everyone else. Apparently, they encountered some kind of beast in a forest and a deranged merchant tried to kidnap Ingrid.” 

“Why, of all people, Ingrid?” Leonie asks with a confused expression. 

“Jeralt said Alois will explain once we get back to him,” Lysithea replies, “He seemed a bit reluctant to share the details of it, though, but he said they have a definitive lead on who’s responsible for the attack now.” 

“Let’s not keep him waiting, then,” Cyril says mildly excited, yawning once he’s finished speaking. 

They all start walking across the bridge back to the academy side when, from the air around them, they hear something strange. “Hellllooooo….” 

They stop, looking around themselves as they try to pinpoint just where the voice came from. 

“You… all heard that right?” Lysithea asks worriedly, everyone nodding in confirmation at her. 

“It came from the bridge I think,” Mercedes says, subconsciously walking back to the center. 

They hear another, different voice call out, “Is anyone up there….” 

All four students share a look, and they all hesitantly look at the edge of the bridge. “Um… surely no one is below us… right?” Lysithea says fearfully, a slight shiver to her hands. 

“What? You're not afraid of a few ghosts, are yah?” Leonie teases, nudging the girl as she throws a spiteful glare at her. 

Then, their eyes snap back to the edge as they hear a more familiar voice, “If any of my students are up there, you have until the count of ten to let us know.” 

“The Hell,” Leonie whispers, hauling herself over to the edge and taking a look over. She doesn’t spot anything immediately, but she leans forward to look right under the bridge, and she gasps loudly. She pulls herself back over and says, “Someone get Jeralt. They’re right fucking below us!” 

“Whose below us?” Cyril asks worriedly. 

“Byleth!” Leonie exclaims, “And Hilda, Ashe, Dimtri,” Leonie leans back over and shouts, “HEEEEEEEEY!!!!” 

Mercedes takes an involuntary step back at Ashe’s name, covering her mouth as a tear streams down her face. “He’s alive?” She asks in disbelief. 

“You’re kidding,” Lysithea says, leaning over the edge as well. Cyril joins them, leaving over and spotting what he assumed to be their classmates, professor, and a few others as well, standing on a ledge that extended below the bridge a few hundred feet down. 

“Good thing I didn’t have to count to ten!” Byleth calls up, her voice echoing off the canyon walls. 

“Mercedes,” Lysithea says while looking back at her, “Get the captain.” Mercedes nods readily and runs back to the academy. 

\--------------

Byleth looks up at the bridge with a broad grin, thankful that at least a few other students were alright. 

“Are you all alright?!” The voice of Leonie shouts from above. 

“We should be!” Dimitri calls back, “We’re about to send someone up, in fact.” 

“Really?” Lysithea calls down, “You’ve got a pegasus down there?” 

“Yes!” Yuri shouts back, “Expect two people coming up.” 

The students above them go silent for a second before Cyril calls down, “Who was that?” 

“The people we’re sending up will explain,” Claude calls up before turning to his classmates, “Soooo… any volunteers.” 

“I’ll go,” Bernadetta offers, “I’ve flown before and I have the least concerns about it.” 

“Aw man,” Hilda starts grumbling, “I wanted to go up.” 

“Are you sure?” Hubert asks worriedly, unusual for his character. 

“Positive,” Bernadetta replies before throwing a brief glare at Yuri. 

Hubert picks up on this and glares at Yuri as well, saying, “If that’s the case, do stay safe.” 

“I will,” Bernadetta replies before surprising him and everyone else who knew her by planting a kiss on his cheek, leaving even Sothis speechless. 

Hubert turns bright red after this happens, and just stares at the space in front of him as Bernadetta joins Constance on her pegasus. “You said you’ve flown before?” 

“A little bit,” Bernadetta replies, holding on tightly as Constance spurs the pegasus forward, the students clearing the ledge as they fly out of the cliffside stable. 

Byleth takes a deep breath as she watches them fly up to and landing on the bridge. “Well, that's taken care of,” Claude says before throwing a mischievous look at Hubert, “How’re you feeling, Hubert?” 

The man in question is as red as a tomato, and once Claude’s words reach his ears, he just turns around and sits in one of the stables, contemplating what just happened. 

“You know,” Hilda whispers into Ashe’s ear, “I think I know what happened between them, now.” 

“Maybe,” Ashe replies with a shrug, “Only time will tell.” 

\--------------

Bernadetta relished the feeling of the air passing by her, holding onto Constance tightly as they climbed higher and higher. 

“Hey Bernadetta,” Constance calls back, her voice somewhat weak, “Once we land, you do the talking until we get inside.” 

“Inside?” Bernadetta asks, “What’s wrong?” 

Bernadetta watches Constance visibly wince once the sunlight shines on them, and can barely hear her murmur, “I… don’t like… sun... hah….” 

“Um… ok?” Bernadetta says with uncertainty as they circle the chapel and land safely on the bridge as her classmates sprint over to them. 

Bernadetta dismounts the pegasus first, and is immediately tackled by Lysithea in a bear hug as she exclaims joyfully, “You’re alive!” She is immediately followed by Leonie a few seconds later, less forcefully though she does drop her crutches and hops on one leg into the embrace. As for Cyril he just stands next to the three women awkwardly while holding Leonie’s crutches. All Bernadetta can do is just stand still and watch as Captain Jeralt, Alois, Mercedes, Jeritza, and a contingency of knights run down the bridge as well. 

“It’s Bernadetta!” Mercedes exclaims, running ahead and also hugging the girl, nearly knocking everyone over. 

“Where’s Byleth?” Jeralt asks, and Bernadetta just motions to the edge of the bridge. He steps over and looks down, leaning further until she hears him gasp and exclaim, “By the Goddess, they are alive!!”

“Ha!” Alois exclaims while leaning over, shouting down to the students below, “And here we thought you all left!”

Bernadetta isn’t able to hear the rest of the conversion from here, but she frees herself from her other classmates as Constance slowly dismounts from her pegasus. 

“Listen,” Bernadetta begins, “I know you’re happy to see us alive, but… there’s a problem.” 

“What kind of problem?” Leonie asks as she accepts her crutches back from Cyril, “If we just need to relay a few pegasi to get everyone up, it shouldn’t be a problem.” 

“That’s the thing,” Bernadetta says, “We can’t come back up yet. There… are some people down there that are a real threat to the church, and if we don’t deal with them soon, they will overwhelm us.” 

“Who?” Lysithea asks worriedly. 

Before Bernadetta can answer, Constance says, “Um… I don’t mean to be a bother… but ah…. Can we... go inside somewhere?” 

“Yes,” Bernadetta agrees, “This is something that we need to get the knights on board with as well.” 

“Whatever you say,” Leonie says before turning to Jeralt. “Hey, Captain.” Jeralt turns to face her as she continues, “Bernadetta said that some people moved in down there and they need to be dealt with first before we can bring them up.” 

“Who are they then?” Jeralt asks. 

Bernadetta takes a few seconds to recall the name and says, “They call themselves ‘Those Who Slither in the Dark’.”

Lysithea gasps loudly and covers her mouth once Bernadetta finishes while Alois gets a contemplative look as he says, “You know, that was the same name that we got from that beast.” 

“What beast?” Bernadetta asks. 

Jeralt rests his hand against his chin as he watches Lysithea’s composure continue to deteriorate and says, “Let’s take this inside. We’ll hold off on bringing anyone up until we can get a better picture of what’s going on.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, we have our second reunion. 
> 
> I'm going to go ahead and say that this chapter and the next chapter are going to be more bridge chapters than anything, so no real action is expected until the chapter after the next, and even then, I'm planning on giving our Abyss team a break so we can check in on the other students to see how they've been doing for a chapter. Beyond that, I hope everyone is enjoying this thing, and I'll be back next week.


	29. Crawling in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I’ve been crawling in the dark, looking for the answer…”- Hoobastank

Sometime after the tearful reunion on the bridge, Bernadetta and those who were there, plus Catherine and Shamir, are gathered in the Golden Deer classroom, which has been temporarily turned into a makeshift briefing room since the main one is damaged. She has only just finished explaining the events that occurred down below, omitting any mention of Sothis but including the condition of Flayn and Edelgard and the troubles they had to face, but again, omitting Flayn’s true identity. 

The reactions from those present varied. Leonie grumbles about not being able to help in her condition while Lysithea and Cyril whisper to each other about their classmates’ experiences. Mercedes and Jeritza also have a whispered conversation together, the former expressing interest in going below to help her friends while the latter expresses concern over it. Catherine and Shamir share worried glances, and the latter asks, “Is Edelgard aware of what will likely happen once she comes back up?” 

“Yes,” Bernadetta confirms, “But given what she had to do to keep Flayn out of TWSITD’s hands, the least the Church should do is hear her out.” 

“I am more than willing to hear her side of the story,” Jeralt confirms, “But I highly doubt Rhea will be so lenient.” 

“We’ve kept that in mind,” Constance replies, standing off to the side out of the sunlight, “I’m not terrible privy to the exact details, but Princess Edelgard does have a plan for when she does face her.” 

“What kind of plan?” Catherine asks worriedly. 

“I can only confirm that it should not get violent,” Constance says, “The only real deciding factor is what Rhea will do.” 

“If I know her at all,” Jeralt says, “She’ll have more than a few words to say to her. While she doesn’t like getting her own hands dirty, she’s not opposed to imposing her power where she sees fit. In all likelihood, she won’t be willing to hear a single word that Edelgard has to say.” 

“But Seteth will,” Alois says, “Flayn is his sister after all. I’m sure he’ll want an explanation out of Edelgard once they are reunited.” 

“But Seteth is not Lady Rhea,” Cyril counters, “He left the Church with the expedition because Rhea was dragging her feet with the search effort. I don’t know what was said between them, but Seteth just looked livid as all Hell the last time he spoke with her. Hell, even I’m having trouble getting through with her.” 

“I haven't,” Jeritza says, drawing everyone’s attention. 

“What?” everyone asks at one. 

Jeritza spares a glance at his sister before continuing, “It was Mercedes’ idea. She had become worried that, with her extreme level of isolation, Rhea would start doing things irrationally and perhaps hurt a few innocent people in the near future. As such, she suggested that I try and talk with her.” 

“And how did it go?” Bernadetta asks. 

“To say that she was angry would be an understatement,” Jeritza answers flatly, “I’m honestly surprised that no one had tried to check on us with just how loudly she was screaming at me. It went on for about three hours, but I didn’t budge. I just let her vent and rant because she needed to. She did say a few things that caught my interest, but I agreed not to share with anyone what she said.” 

“I can only assume that… you’ve been back since?” Cyril asks, a few pangs of jealousy brewing within him. 

“At least once a day,” Jeritza confirms, “I’ve effectively become her confidant in a way.” 

“Perhaps… you can convince her to hear Edelgard out?” Bernadetta suggests. 

“I’ll at least let her know what is going on, yes, but I can’t promise anything.” 

“Still better than no,” Jeralt says before looking at Alois, “What did you have to report? You said this beast you mentioned knew of TWSITD?” 

“Yeah,” Alois says, “Let me explain…” 

\--------------

_ Alois rolls under a wild beast as it swipes at him, narrowly avoiding its six-inch claws as it tears through the air. He quickly adjusts his grip on his ax, and drives the blade into the heart of the beast, drawing out one last painful roar from its dying breath.  _

_ Alois withdraws his ax and quickly scans the forest around him. He spots Marianne and a much larger beast circling each other in a clearing, though the beast seems weak, many wounds littering his body. In fact, even the very human-like voice coming from the beast seemed to have grown quieter than before.  _

_ “You have fought well, my descendant,” the beast says, his tone seemingly at peace, “Perhaps I can finally find peace this day.” _

_ “I never wanted it to end like this, knowing who you are,” Marianne replies. _

_ “Yes you did, don’t lie to yourself,” the beast counters as it stops, “From the legacy that I left behind, your life was one of uncertainty and fear.” _

_ Marianne stops as well, taking a low stance with her sword as she says, “You may not be wrong, but that doesn’t change the pain that will come from this.” _

_ “But my soul will be free”, the beast says quietly, his legs failing him as he falls to the ground. Marianne leaves her low stance and runs over to his prone form as the remaining students, professors, and knights enter the clearing.  _

_ “Marianne!” Seteth calls out, sprinting over to her but stopping at the beast's command.  _

_ “Fear not”, the beast says weakly to Seteth, “She has won this battle.” _

_ Everyone slowly circles the beast, keeping their weapons drawn should it attempt to attack any of them by surprise.  _

_ “I’m not sure how long I have left,” the beast says, “Ask what you can.” _

_ “Who are you really?” Marianne asks, “What is my crest supposed to be?” _

_ “I am Maurice,” he answers, “One of the so-called ‘Ten Elites’ of Fodlan.” _

_ “I thought your line was supposed to be extinguished,” Seteth asks in shock, “How could you have-,” _

_ “From before I became this monstrosity you see,” Maurice says, “The burden that crests and those relics,” he nods at Sylvain’s lance, “Place on us is immense. If abused, its power will turn against you, as my relic had done to me.” _

_ “We know,” Sylvain replies tiredly, “That’s what happened to my brother.” _

_ “Did he have a crest?” Maurice asks.  _

_ “No,” Sylvain replies, “He was a raging ass though.”  _

_ “For a crestless, it will happen almost guaranteed,” Maurice says, “For a bearer, it depends on the intent and how much you use it.” _

_ “Who did this to you, then?” Ferdinand asks, “If you are the original bearer, then you must’ve gotten your crest from somewhere.” _

_ The beast's eyes drift over to Seteth as he speaks, “They call themselves ‘Those Who Slither In The Dark’. They are triumvirates of evil, and once sought to destroy Fodlan and those who call it home. I… don’t remember much from that time. I only know that they were never extinguished. They still lurk in the shadows, awaiting their time to rise once again.”  _

_ Seteth clenches his fists as he says angrily, “I knew it. That must be what happened to Flayn.”  _

_ “I can only say that their activity is increasing,” says Maurice, “I am not known as the Wandering Beast for nothing.”  _

_ “Then what do you know?” Marianne asks quietly.  _

_ “They have their fangs deep within the Empire,” Maurice confirms, causing the Black Eagle students to stiffen up, “The insurrection that happened was done on their command.”  _

_ “What?” Ferdinand asks in shock, “What insurrection?”  _

_ “Who was involved?” Petra asks next.  _

_ “Who exactly, I cannot say,” Maurice answers weekly, his form already degrading, “I only know that many suffered because of their machinations. I wish I knew more.”  _

_ “We already know enough,” Marianne reassures him, resting her hand on his head, “Once we find the princess, we’ll know for certain. You just need to rest now.”  _

_ Maurice just closes his eyes, a barely audible “Thank you,” coming from him as his body fades away, leaving behind the broken skeleton of a man and the lost holy relic, Blutgang.  _

\--------------

“After that, we held a semi-proper burial for him and left the forest the next day,” Alois finishes, “I was supposed to deliver a report sooner had that merchant not attacked us.” 

“Yeah, um… Lysithea mentioned that to us,” Leonie says, “She said he was after Ingrid?” 

“Mmmm…” Alois is reluctant to say anything, but just quietly asks, “Does anyone remember what happened to Sylvain a few months ago?” 

Mercedes, Bernadetta, and Jeritza all turn pale, their eyes growing wide as Sylvain’s most unfortunate fate replayed in their minds. “Um… I-I didn’t want to…” Bernadetta stutters. 

“Yeah… all I’m going to say… ah…” Alois shifts uncomfortably in his seat as he folds his arms, “Ingrid…  _ taught… _ Sylvain how to do it with the Lance of Ruin. Even Seteth said he has never seen a holy relic defiled in such a way.” 

After a few seconds, Mercedes’ eyes roll back as she faints, falling against Jeritza as he tries his hardest to look stoic. As for Bernadetta, she just buries her head in her hands as she whispers, “Please stop…” 

Everyone else just watches the three with mild fear in their eyes, none of them wanting to ask what had happened in either incident. 

“So… what happened after?” Jeralt asks after a few awkward minutes of silence. 

“Well,” Alois begins as he scratches the back of his head, “Seteth had to share a few words about cruel and unusual punishment with Ingrid and Sylvain, and that merchant got picked up by a few Alliance soldiers a few hours later. Apparently, this guy had an illegal slavery ring and just had a bounty placed on him by house Reigan, so he was going to get arrested anyway.” 

“So why did he go after Ingrid?” Leonie asks. 

“Ingrid thinks that man had made an offer for her hand in marriage recently, and because of her budding relationship with Sylvain, she put the offer down,” Alois explains, “He must’ve not taken the news lightly and decided that kidnapping would be a better alternative.” 

“At least she’s safe,” Cyril says, “Who knows what he would’ve done to her.” 

“This is Ingrid we’re talking about,” Catherine interjects, “Had he succeeded in taking her, he would be the one screaming.” 

“As someone who was in the training arena that day,” Jeritza adds, “If there was ever a woman who belonged in a man’s body, it’s her.” 

“Enough about Ingrid, we have more important issues to focus on,” Jeralt says, bringing everyone’s attention back to him, “Now, since we know that the missing students are below us and that those responsible for the attack are also below us, we have to get the remaining students back here as quickly as possible.” 

“I’ll get ready to leave once the meeting is over,” Alois says, “They’ll be expecting me.” 

“Yes, but we also need to send a few people down to help the students below,” Jeralt says, “Do I have any volunteers?” 

“I wish I could go,” Leonie grumbles as she glares at her bound leg. 

Mercedes, now awake and aware, says, “I’ll go down.” 

“Wait a second,” Shamir says, “You’re our only faith mage right now. Why would you want to go down?” 

“I’m the only faith mage that’s up here, yes, but they have two down there,” Mercedes counters, “Besides, I think Linhardt would be better suited for treating Leonie.” 

“Why? You’re more powerful than him,” Leonie argues. 

Mercedes nods at her and says, “That is true, but he has a better understanding of human anatomy than I do. He can get your leg set better than I can.” 

Leonie ponders this for a second before shrugging her shoulders, accepting Mercedes’ decision. 

“I think it would be best if we stayed here,” Catherine says while pointing at Shamir, “If there is an entrance at the bottom of the canyon, then TWSITD will almost certainly have a few traps down there.” 

“I just can’t leave them alone without some help,” Jeralt says. 

“Send John down,” Shamir suggests, “He’s gotten better.” 

“If I send him down, then Anna will volunteer as well,” Jeralt whispers before sighing. He looks over at his knights and says, “If they agree, I’ll send them down, otherwise, it has to be you.” 

“What about you two?” Leonie asks Lysithea and Cyril, “Are the two of you going down at all?” 

“I mean,” Cyril looks over at Lysithea, “Should we?” 

Lysithea looks away and sighs deeply, saying, “If my head is ok, I’ll definitely go, but if not, I’ll stay.” 

“I’ll examine you before we go,” Mercedes offers.

“And what of you?” Leonie then asks Jeritza. 

He spares a look at Mercedes and answers, “I’ll stay. I’m the only one that isn't getting chased away by Rhea right now, and I doubt she’d want to see anyone else otherwise.” 

“I’ll stay so I can coordinate continued clean up and point the returning students in the right directions once they get here,” Jeralt confirms, “I’ll let some of the pegasus and wyvern riders know to get ready to relay supplies down in a few hours.” 

“We’ll talk to John and Anna about heading down,” Catherine offers as she and Shamir stand. 

“In that case, Bernadetta and I will let everyone else know what’s going on,” says Constance. 

“And I’ll head back to the expeditionary force post haste,” Alois says as he walks out the door, “I’ll see you all in a few days… hopefully.” 

\--------------

Rhea sat silently at her desk, her head resting against her arms as she glared at the inkpot next to her. She just felt an overwhelming urge to throw it at the wall, but she held herself in place. She’s already made a fool of herself to many of the servants and staff in the monastery, and she had watched as Seteth departed the monastery with most of the remaining students. She couldn’t believe herself. So much worse has happened in the past, some events even leaving her questioning her sanity. Why was she getting so worked up over these last few weeks? She knew for a fact the damn princess had taken Flayn, and everyone else expectedly thought the same. But instead of cursing her name and forsaking her, everyone started praying that she would be alright and that she could be saved just as much as Flayn. 

She hears her door creak open as whoever opened it steps inside. There could only be two people who would dare enter her room still, and she prayed that it was the silent one. 

“Um… Lady Rhea?” Cyril asks cautiously, drawing a tired sigh from the Archbishop. 

She doesn’t answer him, now too angered to look at the young boy she had taken in. She just wanted him to leave whatever meal he had brought and to stay away from her for now, not while she was this way. 

“Uh…,” Cyril is hesitant to speak, she can tell that, but even she couldn’t prepare for what he has to say, “The Captain has asked for my help with a few things, and I won’t be able to… bring you anything until we’re finished. If you need anything now… please ask Jeritza.” 

And with that, he leaves her be, the door quietly closing as she looks over at it. She crumbles a piece of paper in her hand, a snarl creeping onto her face. ‘That’s it…’ she tells herself, ‘That’s another one gone.’ 

She grabs the inkpot from her desk and hurls it across the room, the glass shattering against the wall as ink explodes in all directions, painting her dresser, vanity mirror, and a few priceless artifacts that she had collected over the years. She buries her head in her hands as she seethes with anger, whispering, “Why the Hell is everyone taking her side?” 

Just then, a monotone voice asks, “Whose side?” 

She looks up suddenly to see Jeritza at the door, his expressionless face looking between her and the ink on her wall. She stands up and marches over to him, grabbing his collar and screaming, “The fucking princess! Why does everyone think that she’s the victim! She took Flayn! You know you can’t deny that!” 

As expected, he just stares at her without saying a word. She couldn’t fathom why he can take such verbal abuse from her without flinching, but this doesn’t stop her rant. 

“It doesn’t make sense. That letter she left was incriminating enough,” she continues, walking away from the man as she paces her room, “Why would she take the time to leave a  _ sealed _ letter if she knew she was getting taken? Why would she have a trunk like that anyway! She must’ve been hiding something in it that would’ve helped her take Flayn away from here!” 

She continues her rant for thirty minutes, repeating the same details as before over and over to Jeritza. To his credit, he did not comment and showed absolutely no emotion as she spoke. Once she slowly started to calm down, Jeritza noticed that a few tears had appeared on her cheek. 

“Why doesn’t anyone realize that she’s guilty?” Rhea finally stops as she sits down in her chair, just tired from everything that has happened. 

They spent several minutes in silence, Jeritza carefully choosing the words he’s about to say. “I understand your distrust of the princess,” he says, “But I don’t think it’s a case of no one thinking she’s guilty.” 

“Are you saying that others feel the same?” Rhea asks though she looks away from him. 

“Perhaps not the same way as you,” Jeritza answers as he approaches her, “But they believe that she took Flayn for good reason, and I believe that too.” 

“Why? Has something been found that would suggest that?” 

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Rhea turns to look at Jeritza as he speaks, “The missing students and professor have not only been located, but they have Flayn and the princess with them as well.” 

“They have?” Rhea whispers, standing to her feet as she looks into Jeritza’s eyes, hoping to find some level of sincerity in them, “Where?” 

“Let me ask this: Are you aware of an underground complex called the Abyss?” 

Rhea takes a step back, only now realizing just how many details she had missed, ‘Of course…’

“Yes, I do,” Rhea responds quietly, “By the Goddess, how did I miss that? Every explosion that happened was at a known entrance, and one was discovered on the cliffside not too long ago… where are they now?” 

“At the cliff entrance you mentioned,” Jeritza says, “They confirmed that all students are accounted for, as well as a few denizens that became trapped down there with them when the explosions happened.” 

“Who exactly?” Rhea asks worriedly. 

“If memory serves me correctly, they called themselves the Ashen Wolves. They also have a pair of former bandits with them as well as two of the conspiring priests from the Rite of Rebirth incident.” 

Rhea lets out a sigh of relief when the Ashen Wolves are mentioned, thankful that the students were at least with a few people even she could trust. “You said that the princess and Flayn were also with them?” 

“Indeed,” Jeritza confirms, “But they weren’t the only ones found either. While they were searching for an exit, they found the princess and the Ashen Wolves fighting against a group of people who call themselves Those Who Slither In The Dark. Are you familiar with them?” 

Rhea gasps at the name, a renewed anger rising within her. ‘By Mother’s name, they’ve returned.’ 

“All too well,” Rhea whispers venomously, “The Church has been waging a silent war with them for centuries.  _ Very _ few people know of its true extent. If they are in the Abyss, they must be after the Chalice of Beginnings.” 

“That was explained as well,” Jeritza confirms, “Unfortunately, one of the Cardinals named Aelfric already surrendered himself and the chalice over to them.” 

“SHIT!” Rhea exclaims, “He should’ve never been trusted with the knowledge of that damn thing! Where is he now?” 

“Aelfric is assumed to be deeper in the Abyss with TWSITD,” Jeritza confirms, “The students who are down there have elected to stay and push further down to drive them out.” 

“Is Flayn staying with them?” 

“Professor Byleth believes it would be in her best interest to stay with them until they can get out, especially with how understaffed the monastery is right now.” 

Rhea walks over to her window, looking out over the empty courtyard. As much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself, she firmly believed that Byleth is more than capable of keeping Flayn safe. Even then, there was still the question of Edelgard. “What of the princess,” she asks, “What will she do?” 

“Edelgard will also stay down there,” Jeritza says as he steps towards the archbishop, “She is, understandably, uncertain of what will happen once she’s returned to the monastery proper.” 

Rhea sighs at this, though she keeps her irritation in check. “Will you be going down?” 

“No. I will be remaining here per Jeralt’s request. Once the expeditionary force return, they are going to try and locate a ground entrance to the Abyss so they can meet the other students halfway, preferably with TWSITD trapped between them.” 

“It won’t do them any good,” Rhea says as she shakes her head, “Those people can teleport quite easily. It is how they’ve been able to elude us for so long. Enchantments do exist to counter it, but I doubt anyone down there would know.” 

“I’m certain they will find a way,” Jeritza reassures, “All we can do now is have faith.” 

‘Unusual words coming from someone like you,’ Rhea thinks to herself, though she doesn’t respond verbally. 

“Is there anything in particular that you need?” Jeritza asks immediately after, and Rhea can tell that he was a little too eager to change the subject. 

“Normally Cyril would bring me something, but I can only assume that Jeralt asked him to join the students down below,” Rhea curses herself for allowing him to leave the way he did, “If you can find him before he goes down… please tell him I’m sorry. These last few weeks have been some of the most stressful for me in a very long time, and I shouldn’t have allowed myself to get this way. And… if he runs into the princess at all, have him deliver this message…”

\--------------

Byleth sits on the landing, watching the bridge above for any possible pegasus or wyvern that could be coming down. Bernadetta and Constance have already returned, the latter being a little too happy to be returning to the Abyss. Besides them, everyone else is either counting their supplies or having quiet conversations in some of the stalls. Next to Byleth sits Edelgard, also watching the bridge above while throwing cautionary glances at the ledge. 

“I really do hope they are willing to listen to me,” Edelgard says offhandedly, “I’ve spent too long down here for all of this to be for naught.” 

“I hope so too,” Byleth replies quietly, “I still wonder how the world will react to Sothis, though.” 

“We’ve already discussed this,” Sothis says from the ledge, drawing a groan from Edelgard, “And we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” 

“Why are you over the ledge?” Edelgard asks grumpily. 

“It was the only place I could set up a hammock,” Sothis replies, “Besides, it really is a nice view from here.” 

“A hammock,” Byleth whispers while rolling her eyes, “Of all things, she can make a hammock. And here I thought you were lazy before.” 

Sothis just scoffs at this and says while holding up two fingers over the ledge for her friends to see, “Two words: stone throne.” 

Again, Byleth just rolls her eyes and returns to watching the bridge for any pegasus or wyvern. As for Edelgard, she shakes her head and stands up, saying, “I’m heading in. Just holler once they get here.” 

“Sure thing,” Byleth replies as Edelgard walks into the stables. 

A few hours later, Byleth spots a flock of pegasi rounding the canyon, gliding over to the landing where she sits. She stands up as a few other students, Ashe, Hilda, and Linhardt steps out. 

“I would say ‘you’re late’,” Byleth begins once she sees Catherine landing, “But we never gave you a timeframe.” 

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve last flown a pegasus, so just be thankful that I even came down here,” Catherine replies as she dismounts, the remaining pegasi touching down behind her. While the bulk of the pegasi are carrying knights who will likely return to the monastery, Byleth recognized Lysithea, Cyril, and Mercedes immediately as they dismounted. 

“Professor!” Byleth braces herself as Lysithea nearly tackles her in an embrace, which she reciprocates. “Thank the Goddess you’re alive,” Lysithea whispers, her grip tightening on Byleth. Byleth looks around and notices Ashe and Mercedes embracing each other as well, the latter crying her heart out as Ashe gently strokes her hair to calm her. Byleth then sees two more familiar faces running over to her. 

Lysithea backs away and allows Anna and John a chance to tackle Byleth, this time actually knocking her over with their combined weight. 

“Ow,” Byleth says weakly after they hit the ground, “Missed you guys, too.” 

“Sorry,” Anna apologizes once she and John help her up, “We’ve just been worried sick about you.”

“Yeah,” John adds, “Between the Archbishop locking herself away and the other students leaving, it’s just been unbearably quiet up there.” 

“Yeah,” Byleth nods, “The students really do bring a lot of life to this place, don’t they.” 

“I’d hate to interrupt,” Cyril says, “But where’s Flayn and Edelgard?” 

“They’re inside,” Byleth says, “Want me to show you where?” 

“Please, professor,” Cyril replies with a nod, following Byleth into the stable while Anna and John start helping with the supplies. It doesn’t take very long for them to find Flayn and Edelgard talking to Dimitri and Dedue in one of the stables, a surprising conversation happening between them. 

“I mean… what you and Dedue do with your lives is not my decision,” Dimitri says while glancing at Byleth and Cyril, “But I think Seteth would have a few things to say about it.” 

“What he thinks I should want and what I actually want are two different things,” Flayn argues, “He just needs to understand that I’m not some child, but a grown adult that needs to fend for herself sometimes.” 

“Wait… what?” Cyril asks, completely confused by the conversation at hand. 

Flayn only then notices that Cyril and Byleth are present, and her face grows red as a tomato as she stares at them. Edelgard and Dimitri both facepalm at this as Dedue starts looking in any direction that isn’t the professor. 

“What were you all talking about?” Cyril asks innocently, though it’s obvious neither Dedue nor Flayn wants to say anything. 

“I’ll give you three guesses, kid,” Byleth says while looking at the boy. 

“Um… are Dedue and Flayn… are an item now?” Cyril guesses, to which Dimitri and Edelgard nod in confirmation as Dedue is noticeably redder than before while Flayn turns away to try and hide. “Well… this is proof enough for me then,” Cyril says with a sigh. 

“Proof enough?” Edelgard asks incredulously. 

“It actually relates to why I needed to find you,” Cyril begins, “Rhea wanted me to deliver a message.” 

Edelgard gets noticeably nervous as Dimitri tilts his head, curious as to what Rhea wanted to say. 

“Before we left, Jeritza pulled me aside to pass this on,” Cyril takes a deep breath and says, “Rhea said she’ll only give you one chance to explain yourself once we return. She said she initially would’ve put you on trial immediately once you were found, but when she learned that TWSITD was involved, she wanted to give you a chance.” 

Edelgard lets out a shaky breath of relief as she says, “Thank you. Knowing that has taken a huge burden off my shoulders. She may not like what I have to say, but the fact she’s at least willing to listen is more than enough assurance for me.” 

“Did she say anything else?” Dimitri asks. 

“Besides apologizing for her behavior these last several weeks, nothing else,” Cyril answers, “She has been incredibly high strung and quick-tempered, and most of the staff try to avoid her as much as possible now. I only ever went to her because someone needed to bring her food, and I was the only one brave enough besides Jeritza to bring her anything beyond that.” 

“Jeritza’s been visiting her?” Edelgard asks in mild shock, to which Cyril nods in confirmation. She ponders this for a minute before saying, “Mercedes must’ve put him up to it. There is no way he would do that voluntarily.” 

“That’s exactly what happened, actually,” Mercedes confirms from nearby, startling everyone already present. “The Archbishop has been very distant from everyone, and I was worried she would do something irreparably damaging to the Church if she was left alone. I asked him to not so much talk to her, but more keep an eye on her should she start acting erratically.” 

“That’s a good thing, I think,” Byleth replies, “If I know that man at all, he’s actually ideal for dealing with her.” 

Mercedes just nods at this while Linhardt approaches with a bag over his shoulder, saying, “Welp, looks like my time here is over.” 

“Yes, but your job isn’t finished,” Edelgard replies, “Just make sure Leonie is ready to help once everyone else has arrived.” 

“I can’t make any promises on that,” Linhardt says with a yawn, “But I’ll do my best.” 

“One more thing,” Byleth says, “Do tell my father ‘thank you’ for me.” 

“Of course, professor,” Linhardt says as he starts walking over to the pegasi preparing to leave. “Just don’t die on me, I don’t think I could forgive myself if any of you did.” 

“That we can promise with certainty,” Byleth calls back as Catherine helps Linhardt onto her pegasus, spurring it into the air as the remaining knights follow her up. 

“Ok,” Yuri says once they are out of earshot, “We have enough supplies to keep pushing down for the next three weeks. I say we camp here for the night and start moving early tomorrow.” 

“Yes,” Byleth affirms, “Get as much sleep as you can tonight. It’s going to be a long way down.” 

The students all disperse into the stables, all praying that they will succeed. 

\--------------

Aelfric paced nervously in the room he had been given, glancing at the door as a scream would periodically echo down the hall. He would leave and investigate what the scream could be about, but his… ‘captors’ asked that he stayed right where he was. He couldn’t rightfully call them captors, not with the way they treated him. They brought him food, fresh clothes, even drawing him a bath and heating it so he could clean off some of the dirt and grime that had accumulated over the last week in the Abyss. However, he suspected that their kindness came with a price, one he might not be able to pay readily, hence his ongoing nervousness. 

The screams didn’t help either. Some of them he couldn’t recognize, others he knew by name. While it pained him to know that the denizens were suffering like this, he couldn’t stop it. The ones that were down here consented to it. The ones who refused were killed outright, mercifully at Aelfric’s request. Now, the screams came few and far between as they are likely killed or worse. 

As he looks up at the door once more, it opens, revealing a man wearing a plague doctor’s mask, someone who introduced himself as Odesse. 

“Hm, you are awake,” the masked man observes, stepping into the room though leaving the door open, “How are you feeling?” 

Aelfric gulps nervously and answers, “Like I have a debt that needs to be paid.” 

“Smart man,” Odesse replies, “You knew better than to think what we’ve given you is simple generosity. Just know that, with us, nothing is free.” Odesse steps out and gestures for Aelfric to follow, “Come. There are a few people you need to meet, and then we can perhaps discuss your repayment to us.” 

Aelfric remains silent as he follows Odesse, calmly walking down several hallways until reaching a larger room. At the far end stands a massive pale man, his featureless eyes bearing down on his vulnerable soul. On this man’s left stands another, seemingly older pale man with a massive, veiny forehead and an enlarged, black eye. On the first man's right stands two women, the first has pale skin just like the two men, her hair a mild orange with one blood-red eye visible. And the other woman has more fair skin, striking aquamarine eyes, and peach-colored hair, though Aelfric could tell that she had little care for who was in front of her. 

Standing in front of the four is a pair of Gremory and a beastly armored knight, their faces hidden as Odesse tilts his head. 

“I do believe we are missing a few,” he says, “Where could they be?” 

“Our informant in Enbarr is currently keeping himself hidden away,” the man with the large forehead says, “Had the traitor not ordered the imperial guard to force us out, he would be here. As for Myson, we’ve sent him back to Shambhala with the information we’ve collected thus far.” 

“Fair enough,” Odesse replies with a shrug, “We’d best focus, though, on the more immediate matter at hand.” He steps aside and gestures for Aelfric to move forward, which he hesitantly does, his eyes bouncing from person to person in front of him. 

“Now, Aelfric,” Odesse begins, “I do believe you’ve met Pittacus and Bias here, but allow me to introduce you to, first, our knight Chilon.” He points first to the armored man before moving his finger from left to right at the people behind him, “Then we have Solon, the chief infiltrator and self-proclaimed ‘savior,’” Solon throws a sharp glare at Odesse as he moves on, “Next we have our boss, Thales, don’t tick him off and you’ll live.” 

The woman next to Thales starts cackling maniacally as Odesse introduces her, “The laughing one is Kronya. She was supposed to be our next infiltrator, but those plans have since been thrown out the window.” 

“Pleasure,” Kronya says once she’s recovered from her fit of laughter. 

“And last, we have Cornelia, our most successful infiltrator to date with having resided within the Kingdom for almost two decades now with not a single soul suspecting a thing,” Odesse praises as Cornelia just nods humbly at him. 

“That may be true, but with the princess’s recent defection, even I might be compromised,” Cornelia states. 

“Hence the reason we have Aelfric here,” Solon says, “He may be the key to ensuring we can continue our work without issue.” 

“What are you doing?” Aelfric asks worriedly, “More importantly, what will you have me do?” 

“Excellent question,” Odesse says, “Let me answer that with a question of my own. What is so special about the woman in that box?” 

“Sitri?” Aelfric asks in shock, “Where is she?” 

“Out of your reach until you answer,” Thales answers coldly, causing Aelfric to step back fearfully. 

Aelfric clears his throat and says, “I… she had died under mysterious circumstances when her daughter was born.” 

“Who is her daughter?” Solon asks. 

“I’m not certain, but I think it’s professor Byleth from the academy.” Solon hums at his answers, closing his eyes as Aelfric continues, “When Byleth was born, Sitri was supposedly buried in the monastery graveyard afterward. About a month after, a fire had broken out in the old barracks and everyone assumed that Byleth had perished in the blaze.” 

“But she’s alive now, is she not?” Kronya observes, “What happened? Did her father just take her away and fake her death?” 

“I think so,” Aelfric says, “But… that’s off-topic I think.” 

“The only bad information is that which goes unspoken,” Odesse scolds gently, “Every word you share with us will be most valuable. Now, who’s her father?” 

“Captain… Jeralt,” Aelfric says, “Sitri and Jeralt had Byleth together.” 

“Interesting,” Solon steps forward and approaches Aelfric, looking deeply into his eyes, and asks, “How did you find her body?” 

“Not long after I became Cardinal,” Aelfric explains as sweat starts dripping down his back, “I was initially exploring the Abyss when I came across her. It was as if she had just died the day before, and I couldn’t find a single sign of decay on her body. She was almost… perfect.” 

Odesse steps in, asking, “And what of that cup we found with her?” 

“It’s called the Chalice of Beginnings, a relic once used in an attempt to resurrect the Goddess.” Aelfric notices everyone’s suddenly stiff stance as he explains, “It ultimately failed, but I think I’ve found where they went wrong, and I believe it can be used to resurrect Sitri.” 

“Or anyone else, for that matter?” Cornelia asks curiously. 

“I wouldn’t say no,” Aelfric answers. 

“What is required?” 

“The chalice is needed, but also the blood of the Apostles is needed to actually start the ritual.” 

“And those Ashen Wolves have the blood of the Apostles,” Odesse says before turning to Thales, “See? He is truly worth keeping. With his assistance, we will be able to further our research much faster than if we depended on the blood of just one person that is now surely beyond our reach.” 

“Taking four people would be dangerous,” Pittacus says. 

“It’s suicide,” Bias adds before Odesse counters them. 

“Dangerous, yes, but we have such reliable allies, now,” Odesse argues as he extends an open hand, “Besides, with the work that we’ve done with them already, all they need to do is just walk up to them and take them!” He then abruptly clenches his fist, pulling it to his chest. “Worst case, we lose a few men; best case, we get the Nabatean as well.” 

“N-Nabatean?” Aefric asks nervously, Solon turning to glare at Odesse slowly as Thales just closes his eyes with visible disappointment. 

“Woops,” Odesse mocks being bashful, “Did I say that out loud?” 

Thales opens his eyes and looks directly at Aelfric as he says, “There are some secrets that the Church would rather not see in the light of day. Since we have little choice in this matter, I will impart this knowledge to you. Just know that, once you bear this knowledge, you will never walk peacefully in the sunlight again until the church is extinguished.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, events are happening out of order, but I needed some way for our expeditionary force to discover TWSITD themselves, and that seemed like the best bet. Also, this chapter's title was the working title of no less than four other chapters, but it didn't fit well with those. Anyway, nothing else to say beyond that, and I hope to see you all next week. Oh, and the only hint that I'll give is that I can finally use the name 'Abyss' in the chapter title. As for the context, I'll leave that a mystery. Oh, and the number three is important as well. 
> 
> Bye!


	30. Seasons in the Abyss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Inert flesh  
> A bloody tomb  
> A decorated splatter brightens the room  
> An execution, a sadist ritual  
> Mad intervals of mind residuals…”- Slayer

Byleth walked between the stalls, unable to sleep. She sits by the darkened cliffside as she watches the few visible stars above. Something felt off. She looks back into the stables, a few visible candlelights illuminating them. 

“Can’t sleep?” Sothis asks from nearby, walking over to Byleth and sitting next to her. 

“No,” Byleth answers quietly, looking back at the cliff, “I’m worried about everyone. We’ve made it this far by just sheer luck alone. I know they are going to go after the Ashen Wolves once we start moving down. The question is, if they capture them, what will they do with us?” 

Sothis hums to herself quietly, and says, “Well… they’ll definitely have it in for Edelgard, maybe even target Dimitri to hurt her indirectly. They will try to incapacitate and take you, mostly because of the sword and your crest. *Sigh* As for everyone else… I don’t know.” 

“That wasn’t exactly uplifting,” Byleth grumbles tiredly. 

“I’m only speaking the truth,” Sothis replies, little joy in her voice, “I’ve done several scouting expeditions down, and their numbers have been steadily rising. Hell, I even saw a few of the other denizens accepting weapons from them to fight on their side. They even got bold and have their upper echelon here just to rub it in. I doubt they’ll stay any later than tonight, but they won’t make escape easy for us.” 

“Can we fight them?” Byleth asks, her heart sinking as Sothis shakes her head. 

“We can establish a few footholds, but until the other students start pushing from below, we won’t be able to do much,” Sothis says quietly, “Again, they can teleport, and the counter enchantment can’t be made until we reach the exact center of the Abyss. Once we get there, it’ll take us a few hours to properly make the runes and imbue them with the power necessary to keep TWSITD from teleporting in.” 

“And teleporting out?” 

“It only works one way, I’m afraid,” Sothis explains, “They can escape, but we can at least ensure they won’t come back. Not for a while at least.” 

“Still better than infinitely recurring reinforcements,” Byleth whispers as she stands, walking back into the stables to check on her students. In the first stable she finds Dedue and Flayn sleeping next to each other, laying flat on the ground. 

“You know, I think they’re embarrassed,” Sothis says quietly with a muffled giggle, “Otherwise, they would be tangled together right now.” 

“I’d be the same way,” Byleth says when she finds Claude sleeping alone in another stable, “I wouldn’t want anyone watching Claude and I spoon each other.” 

“Yeah,” Sothis says with a nod as they look at Lysithea, Cyril, and Hilda sleeping in a third stable, “I see your point.” 

They pass by a fourth stable where they find Ashe and Mercedes still awake, talking quietly about the events that have occurred. Byleth doesn’t stop to speak with them, only saying goodnight as she moves to the last stable, and quietly gasps in surprise. 

Inside, she finds Edelgard sleeping against Dimitri’s shoulder as he rests his head against her’s, sharing a blanket that covers them both. Moreover, Byleth notices that the two royals, who both would normally struggle to sleep because of their recurring night terrors, seemed at peace, not even shivering or quaking with fear.

“Oh, my,” Sothis says as she places her hand over her heart, “They finally did it.” 

“You didn’t notice yesterday?” Byleth asks. 

“Well, I went scouting all day yesterday, so of course I didn’t notice,” Sothis fires back quietly, “But actually seeing them like this after everything we saw them do.” 

Byleth allows a small smile to form on her face as she says, “They deserve this. I’m just incredibly happy that they didn’t have to fight each other this time and I pray that only good things can come from it.” 

“It will, By,” Sothis says reassuringly, “Once we get out, the only ones we’ll have to worry about are TWSITD and Rhea. We will succeed.” 

“We’ve put too much effort into fixing this to quit now,” Byleth says as she walks back to Claude’s stable, “Besides, I have a life to look forward to after this is all over.” 

“And then there’s me, the eternal ghost of the Goddess,” Sothis says sarcastically as Byleth lays down next to Claude, “You just get some rest. I’ll keep watch for any intruders.” 

“Thank you,” Byleth says, closing her eyes as Sothis darts to the center of the room.

\--------------

The next morning, Hubert and Bernadetta discretely watch Edelgard and Dimitri as they still sleep soundly, the former with mild horror written on his face while Bernadetta tries to contain her excitement. 

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Bernadettta whispers, “After all that has happened to them.” 

“I highly doubt they’re like that,” Hubert counters, “But the implications, if it were true, would be astronomical. Do you know what the nobility of Faerghus  _ and  _ Adrestia would do if they found out about this?” 

“Aren’t we both nobles?” Bernadetta asks, causing Hubert to roll his eyes. 

“I’m talking about the other noble houses that would be opposed to this,” he replies while waving his hand at the royals. 

“So you’re not opposed?” Bernadetta asks. 

“I’m not saying I am, but they have to have a serious discussion about it if they wish to pursue a relationship like that,” Hubert explains, “Borders would need to be redrawn, names would need to change, the nobility would need to be convinced that it would be a worthwhile marriage, and that doesn’t include what the Alliance would do in response!” 

Bernadetta mulls over what Hubert says for a minute before sighing quietly and saying, “You may be right, but I doubt Edelgard would care for what any of the nobles would say about it. As for Dimitri, half his friends are high-ranking nobles themselves. So long as they support him, the kingdom will fall in line.” 

“Regardless of that, some of the nobility will surely rebel anyway,” Hubert says as he leads her away from the sleeping royals, “But you're not wrong either. If it is the path they truly wish to pursue together, I have no objections to it.” 

“And neither do I,” Bernadetta replies, a slight grin appearing on her face as they walk over to Byleth as she finishes drawing a crude map of the remainder of the Abyss. 

“We’ve finished checking on Dimitri and Edelgard, professor,” Hubert says matter-of-factly. 

“Are they still asleep?” Byleth asks, to which Bernadetta and Hubert both nod in confirmation. Byleth nods back and says, “Let them. They both have suffered from sleep deprivation for way too long and they need as much rest as they can so we can keep pushing forward.” 

“Is the map almost finished?” Bernadetta asks, looking at the crude designs Byleth has drawn. 

“Almost,” Byleth replies with a sigh, “Sothis has had to head out more than a few times to verify the key locations we need to go to.” 

“Where?” Hubert asks bluntly. 

Byleth adjusts the map and points to each location. “First, we need to ensure they cannot bring in more reinforcements. This spot,” she points to a square room labeled ‘old ritual room’, “Is the dead center of the Abyss, and where we will set up the enchantment that will keep them out.” 

“Ok,” Bernadetta says before pointing to another room further down labeled ‘new ritual room’, “What about here?” 

“According to Sothis, this is where they are preparing a new ritual. The room will be more heavily defended, and have a large space that can allow for a battle to take place while the Rite of Rising is performed,” Byleth brushes her hands through her hair nervously, “Because of that, we suspect that they will attack the Ashen Wolves specifically.” 

“So we need to keep them safe then?” Hubert asks, to which Byleth nods. 

“That’s the ultimate goal right now,” she says, “Once we’ve established the enchantment,” Byleth points to another room labeled ‘safe house’, “We will hold out here until Sothis confirms that the other students are entering the Abyss.” 

“And then we attack the other ritual,” Sothis says suddenly, causing Bernadetta to jump quite badly at the sudden voice. 

“Why do you have to do that?” Byleth asks irritatedly as Hubert calms Bernadetta. 

“Because… um,” Sothis tries to come up with a reply but sighs in defeat and says, “I’m not good at announcing myself since I’m so used to being heard by only you still.” 

“I-it’s ok,” Bernadetta says, “Just try to get better, please.” 

“For you, I will,” Sothis says before getting back to the point, “Ok. If we move in the next hour, we won’t face much resistance getting to the old ritual room. It should only take us about an hour to get the runes in place, and then another half hour to get them properly charged. After that, things will happen very quickly until the enchantment takes full effect. Once that’s complete, TWSITD will surely charge up as quickly as possible so we will likely meet moderate resistance running to the safe house. Once inside, all we’ll have to do is keep the door secured until the other students get here.” 

“Then let’s get everyone together,” Byleth says as she rolls up the map, “Sothis, I’ll leave waking up Edelgard and Dimitri to you.” 

“Why me?” Sothis asks. 

“Because, between the two, only one of them can slap you when they awaken,” Byleth replies with a sly grin, walking away with Hubert and Bernadetta as Sothis just groans in disgust. 

\--------------

“We’re going down first,” Yuri says to a shocked Byleth and Sothis, the latter rubbing a fresh handprint on her cheek. 

“Why?” Byleth asks, “You know they’re coming after you, right?” 

“And we’re using that to our advantage,” Yuri explains, “We know what to expect from the Abyss, they do not. By drawing their attention away from you, you will be able to get the enchantment in place and active before they have a chance to interrupt you.” 

“And what if you get captured?” Sothis asks worriedly, “Once they get their hands on you, they’ll start the Rite of Rising.”    
  


“They need all of us to start it,” Yuri counters, “If they capture just one of us, they won’t be able to do anything worthwhile. Not to mention, they need us alive for the Rite. We already know the risks of this and we’ve decided that containing TWSITD is the priority. If they can’t get in effectively, we will have a much easier time dealing with them.” 

“I cannot, under any good judgment, consent to that idea,” Byleth says, “It is incredibly dangerous and could put all of us in a position we don’t want to be in. If even one of you gets captured, they’ll have some form of leverage over us.” 

“Hence why we are the only ones who will go first,” Yuri says, “Professor, you need to remember why we, the Ashen Wolves, are all down here in the first place.” 

Byleth glares into Yuri’s eyes before Sothis says, “He’s right. We can’t stop them even if we tried, Byleth.” 

Byleth looks away from Yuri, shaking her head as she says, “If that’s what you wish, be my guest. Just remember who you have depending on you once you go down there,” and she walks away from the man. 

\--------------

Byleth grumbled quietly as she, her students, John, Anna, and the Abyssians who decided to join them, descended the third set of stairs down. She resented the talk she had with Yuri before they started their march down, and part of her wished that he would get taken as opposed to the other Ashen Wolves so that he could understand the gravity of their present situation better. The fact the Sothis allowed them to do this drove her even more crazy. ‘For a wise, all-knowing Goddess,  _ that _ was an idiotic thing to do.’ 

Unfortunately, everyone that followed her picked up on her bitter mood and gave a wide gap behind her as they descended, whispering about what had happened. 

After a few hours of seemingly uneventful marching, they enter an open room, four crescent pedestals placed around a central round pedestal, worn groves leading to the center between each one. There is a doorway on each wall, each leading down a different hallway. 

Upon entering, Byleth points to the doorway leading straight ahead and says, “We need to secure that hallway first. It’s going to be our exit once the enchantment is in place. John, Anna, I need the two of you alongside the Abyssians to make sure our exit is clear.” 

“We’ll get it done,” John replies readily, gesturing for the others to follow him as they proceed into the far hallway. 

“Ok,” Byleth begins, “Since Sothis and Edelgard know the enchantment, they will focus on getting it set up. Once it is set, we’ll need Hubert, Lysithea, and Mercedes to start charging the runes. While they are occupied, we need to ensure that they remain uninterrupted until the enchantment powers itself. Until then, I want everyone to take up positions by the doors and immediately report if they see anyone approaching and whether or not they’re friendly. Any questions?” 

“Where do you want me, professor?” Flayn asks. 

“I want you and Dedue with me,” Byleth says, “The last thing we need is to allow them a chance to achieve their original goal and kidnap you.”

“I understand,” Flayn concedes as Dedue steps next to her, “We'll stay out of the way once the fighting starts.” 

A few minutes later, Sothis enters the room, saying, “Looks like the Ashen Wolves are keeping them busy. Like cats chasing mice in a maze.” 

“How often will you check on them?” Byleth asks. 

“Every ten minutes,” Sothis says, “But I need to help Edelgard with the runes. She can get the materials set right, but I need to show her the actual shape they need to be in.” 

“Just keep me posted,” Byleth requests before Sothis returns to Edelgard’s side to guide her through the first rune. 

\--------------

Constance lurks from room to room, following close to her friends as they continue wandering through the Abyss. 

“Ok,” Yuri whispers from the front, “This right and then we take the stairs up.” 

“Got it,” the other Wolves reply simultaneously, silently creeping up the stairs. As they walk, Constance pauses as she hears light footsteps behind her. She risks looking back briefly and finds nothing of particular interest, though she does urge her companions to move faster. 

“We’re being followed,” she says, “Move quicker.” 

“That’s the plan,” Balthus says, “Just keep listening. If they go silent, let us know.” 

“Got it,” she replies, her ears picking up the footsteps once more as the stairs level out on the next floor. As they quicken their pace, the footsteps seem to grow more and more distant until it becomes inaudible to them, and they turn into a room and close the door tightly, making themselves as silent as possible. 

They watch the door as they listen to the footsteps turn into marching, loud enough that Constance can guess at least eight soldiers. They pass by the room without a second thought, but the wolves remain in the room for a few minutes more before Yuri peaks out. 

“Ok,” he says, “This way,” and he steps out and goes in the opposite direction of the soldiers. And thus, the cycle repeats several times, sometimes with a single scout, other times with what seemed like an entire battalion. Each time, they get them to follow, and each time, they slip into a room and hide themselves away until their pursuers pass by. 

After the most recent attempt, they allow what seems to be a single scout again to pass by as Yuri peaks out once more. “Ok,” he says, “Let’s go left and head up. They should be almost finished, now.” He leads the wolves out of the room and starts walking briskly down the hall, cautiously listening for anything that could approach them. As they walk, Constance bushes her shoulder as she feels a cobweb fall onto it, only to realize that there was no cobweb. She looks over her shoulder for a second, seeing nothing behind her until another cobweb falls on her other shoulder. She looks over her other shoulder, seeing nothing again until she looks forward and has something hit the back of her head hard enough to knock her unconscious. 

\--------------

Dimitri idly sharpens his lance as he watches Edelgard forming the last rune. While he should’ve been keeping his eyes on the hallway with Claude, he just felt his eyes continually return to the princess. For some reason, seeing her on her hands and knees had mesmerized him. He feels a gentle shaking against his shoulder as he tears his eyes away from Edelgard to find a bemused Claude looking at him. 

“You’ve taken a liking to her, haven’t you?” He asks mischievously. 

Dimitri just rolls his eyes and looks back down the hallway, saying, “I think it’s a little too soon for you to be asking that.” 

“We all saw you this morning,” Claude says with a snicker, “Once Dorothea finds out, she’ll have an aneurysm just thinking about it.” 

Dimitri starts turning red as Claude calls him out, leaving him sputtering, “It was... I… it was just…” 

Claude, for his part, just chuckles lightly and says, “Don’t worry. I’m not that cruel. But I can’t help but notice that you seem to be in a better mood than before.” 

“I mean…,” Dimitri takes a few seconds to think of his response, “Last night… it was the best sleep I’ve had in years. It just felt so peaceful while we slept together. I almost didn’t want to wake up.” 

Claude's mischievous aura is replaced by a more earnest one as he says, “I understand. I still remember when we started marching down when you woke up from that nightmare. You just looked completely defeated at that point. And once we got to Edelgard and she confessed the rest of the truth, you-” 

“She didn’t confess all of it at the time,” Dimitri interrupts, “After that confession, she came to my room and… let me know what she didn’t share.” 

“About her past?” Claude asks. 

“Yeah,” Dimitri says with a nod, “When Flayn said Edelgard faced a living Hell, she meant it. I knew right then and there that I couldn’t resent her anymore. She suffered a fate far worse than I did, and blamed everyone because of it. Immediately after, all I said was, ‘I… am so sorry, El,’ and it somehow jogged her memory.” 

“As in…, she remembers you now?” Claude asks. 

“Yes,” Dimitri replies, “I don’t remember for how long we cried, but we fell asleep in each other’s arms afterward. The next morning… well, you eavesdropped on the whole thing, so you already know.” 

“Indeed,” Claude replies, returning his gaze down the empty hall. 

“It’s ready,” Edelgard announces as she stands, wiping the dust off her legs as Byleth steps towards her. 

“Mercedes, Hubert, Lysithea, start charging this thing,” she says as she passes a battle ax to Edelgard, “They are definitely going to be attracted to this, so be ready to defend yourselves.” 

\--------------

Yuri curses silently as more footsteps start following them, somehow closer than before. ‘They shouldn’t be getting this close.’ 

“Constance,” he calls back quietly, “How many are there?” 

“About ten,” she replies, “Maybe fifteen. We need to move quickly if we hope to outrun them.” 

“Got it,” Yuri replies, quickening his pace as the other Wolves follow close behind. He weaves down several halls, scanning for any intact doors, but as luck would have it, all the doors he passes by are either missing or bashed in. ‘Great, they’re learning.’ 

“Yuri,” Constance calls from the back, “They’re gaining.” 

“I know,” he calls back irritatedly, “Just give me a minute.” Finally, he happens upon an intact door and quickly barges in as he allows his fellow Wolves to enter. 

“Wew,” Balthus says as the marching soldiers pass them by unnoticed, “Made it.” 

“Yeah, but only just,” Yuri says as he and Hapi watch the door cautiously. “Let’s wait a little longer until-” Suddenly, a bright flash of green flame erupts from behind them, and Yuri whips around only to find the flame already dissipating, Balthus and Constance both gone. 

“Son of a bitch!” Yuri whispers through grit teeth. “They must’ve got Constance first and impersonated her to get Balthus.” 

“Oh no,” Hapi whispers as she watches the door with trepidation, “They know we’re here.” 

“Shit,” Yuri curses quietly as he tries to figure out a plan, but Hapi pulls him over to a closet and shoves him inside. 

“Stay here,” she says, “I’ll distract them. Once they’re gone, get back to the others.” 

“But what about you?” Yuri asks worriedly, “They’ll capture you and-” 

Hapi cuts him off with a brief kiss on his lips, saying after, “I’ll be fine. Just get back to everyone.” And she shuts the closet doors. Yuri just stands stock-still as he listens to Hapi slam the door open and runs down the hall, the soldiers also sprinting to try and catch her. Once they are far from him, Yuri risks exiting the closet and cautiously starts running up the stairs to the old ritual room. 

\--------------

Byleth felt it, she knew something went wrong with the Ashen Wolves. Her gaze continuously shifted between each of the four hallways, a sense of panic building within her. Sothis picked up on Byleth’s distress and dashed out of the room to search for the Ashen Wolves as Edelgard monitored the enchantment as it took shape. 

“We’re almost there,” Edelgard says, “Just a few more minutes. Keep going.”

Hubert, Lysithea, and Mercedes all scrunched their eyes as their remaining mana left their body, all three struggling to keep themselves standing. Suddenly, Sothis darts back into the room in a panic, repeating the same phrase over and over, “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” 

“What happened?” Claude asks worriedly, his eyes not leaving the hallway. 

“Yuri and Hapi got separated,” Sothis says, her voice cracking as panic overwhelms her, “And I couldn’t find Constance or Balthus anywhere!” 

“Damn it!” Byleth snaps, “I knew that would happen!” 

“Where are they now?” Dimitri asks. 

“Yuri is almost here,” Sohtis says quickly, “But Hapi was running the other way with a large group of soldiers behind her. I couldn’t follow her at all so we can only hope she gets to safety.” 

“Unn… shit,” Hubert says before the enchantment blazes to life, the runes embedding themselves permanently into the floor. Unfortunately, the three mages charging the runes all collapse to the ground, exhausted. 

“Ashe, Cyril, Dedue, get the mages,” Byleth orders, “Everyone else, let's get moving. TWSITD can still run, but they won’t be able to come here now.” 

“By, stay here,” Sothis orders, “We need to guide Yuri back once he gets here.” 

“Crap,” Byleth groans before turning to the princess, “Edelgard. You know where you’re going?” 

“We’ll be waiting,” Edelgard replies before leading her classmates down the hall to the safe house.

Byleth and Sothis wait alone until they see Yuri turn the corner, a small squad of soldiers in black armor following him. 

“Quick,” Sothis shouts down the hall, “Say something only Yuri would know!” 

“What the Hell are you on about?!” Yuri shouts back, causing a few of the soldiers to pause after hearing him speak. 

“He’s Yuri,” Sothis says as Byleth unhinges the Sword of the Creator, sending the linked blades over Yuri’s head and striking several of the soldiers. 

“Fucking Hell!” Yuri shouts as he ducks, stopping next to Byleth, “That was almost my head!” 

“Just run, damn it!” Sothis shouts as all three sprints down the far hallway. As they run, Byleth would periodically pause and unleash her sword at the soldiers, keeping them at bay. After a solid ten minutes of running, Byleth noticed that soldiers had given up the chase, and this worried her. 

“I think we’ve lost them,” Yuri says, but Byleth has her doubts. 

“They must have something else planned,” she says, “They wouldn’t just stop chasing you that quickly.” 

Suddenly they turn a corner into a long hallway, and they spot Hapi at the far end. She spots them with initial confusion written on her face before sighing with relief and running over to them, saying, “Thank goodness you’re alright.” 

However, after Byleth and Yuri watch her for a few seconds, they both point their swords at her, bringing her to a stop. “Guys,” she pleads, “It’s really me!” 

“Say something only Hapi would know!” Sothis commands, but Hapi doesn’t respond, her eyes almost begging for mercy. “It’s not her. Just a doppelganger.” 

“Not just any doppelganger,” Byleth whispers venomously, glaring at the poorly hidden black dagger, one she knew all too well. “Show yourself, bitch!” She commands. 

Realizing her disguise didn’t work, the fake Hapi just grins evilly as a green flame envelopes her, revealing a woman with pale skin, orange hair, and blood-red eyes. 

“Very well done,” Kronya says with mock joy, clapping her hands, “You saw right through me.” 

“Where’s Hapi?” Yuri shouts as he glares at the woman. 

“She’s alive, for now at least,” Kronya says as she leans against the wall, acting disinterested, “Honestly, until we nab you, we can’t do anything to them besides starve them for a few weeks. Did you know that the average human can go for a whole month without food, but only two days without water? It’s almost surreal!” 

“Where are they!” Byleth demands, only for Kronya to hold up her hand to silence her. 

“Ah-tah-tah,” she says, “You’re in no position to negotiate after all. I saw the little trick you left in the old room. Very clever indeed. But you must realize that, so long as that thing is active, we can’t come back here, so if we leave with those other Wolves, all we need to do is nab the pretty one here and just do the ritual elsewhere.” 

“I won’t surrender myself to you,” Yuri stubbornly refuses, “Not in a million lifetimes.”    
  


“Tell you what,” Kronya stretches her back and ignites a teleportation spell around her, “We can still move around this Abyss, we just can’t come back if we leave. So long as your friends are here, you have a reason to push forward and save them. If we take them away, what would be the point? We’ll keep them here just for you,” she winks seductively at Yuri, “And, once you all have exhausted yourselves and admitted defeat, perhaps we will allow you all a chance to witness the Rite before we kill you. And no, there is no negotiating.” Kronya cackles loudly as the flames envelop her, leaving Yuri and Byleth alone. Yuri screams as he slams his fist into the wall, surely breaking his knuckles as Byleth counts a few tears falling from his face. 

“Hey,” Sothis says quietly, “We’re not being followed anymore. Let’s get out of here.” Byleth nods silently and pulls a now sulking Yuri along, arriving at a dead-end hallway. Sothis phases through the wall and a hidden door opens up a few minutes later, Bernadetta running out first and embracing Yuri. He’s initially shocked by this but slowly returns her embrace as Edelgard steps out as well. 

“They got them, didn’t they?” Edelgard asks quietly as Byleth nods in confirmation. 

“Did everyone else make it?” Byleth asks. 

“Yes,” Edelgard confirms, leading Byleth inside as Bernadetta and Hilda help Yuri lay down on the lone couch in the room as Dimitri closes the door. Inside, Byleth sees Lysithea, Hubert, and Mercedes laying next to each other, all three barely conscious since the enchantment took so much of their mana while Flayn does what she can to help make them comfortable. Dedue, Cyril, Claude, and Ashe are gathered together in a corner, talking quietly to each other as everyone else is scattered throughout the room. 

“So what now?” Bernadetta asks once Yuri is settled, “What are we going to do?” 

“We wait,” Byleth says, “Our only hope now is the remaining students who are not trapped down here. Once Sothis can confirm that they are below us, we can push onward and save Constance, Balthus, and Hapi.” 

“Not much of a choice at this point,” Sothis says with a sigh, “I’ll start keeping an eye out for them. I’ll let you all know if anything comes up.” 

As Byleth watches Sothis leave the room, she silently prays that the other students are on their way.

\--------------

_ A few days later… _

Linhardt is sitting next to a bed that holds Leonie, examining her now uncovered broken leg. While he was certain it hadn't completely healed, the spells he had used and the potions he had brewed were doing wonders in accelerating her recovery. Right now, he is lightly applying pressure to her tibia, gauging her reaction. 

“Stop,” Leonie says after a few seconds, “Still hurts.” 

Linhardt pulls his hands away and jots down a few notes on a piece of paper as he says, “It’s not quite finished yet, but it is close.” He stands and retrieves one of Leonie’s crutches, helping her out of the bed. “I do believe that you can start putting pressure on it without the risk of another break or possible deformation.” 

“Thank the Goddess,” Leonie says with a sigh, flexing her leg a few times before testing her weight on it, the pain nowhere near as severe as a few days before. “I should be good to go down, then?” 

“Probably tomorrow at the earliest,” Linhardt says as he gets the door, “I advise two more days though, just to be safe.” 

He and Leonie walk out of Manuela’s examination room and head down the stairs to the reception hall where they find Catherine and Shamir talking to Jeralt. 

“They’ll be here any minute now,” Jeralt says, “Alois just got back and is taking his horse to the stables right now.”

“They’re back?” Leonie asks. 

“Almost,” Catherine says, “Alois got here first and Jeralt just said the rest should be here soon.” 

“I’m not sure if I should be excited or worried,” Linhardt says with a yawn, “Casper and Ferdinand are sure to knock me off my feet once they see me.” 

“And I’m also sure Petra and Dorothea will do the same thing,” Leonie adds, “They were both just a mess once you and the others were declared missing.” 

“Captain!” A stray knight shouts from the main door, “They’re here!” 

“Have them come to the reception hall,” Jeralt orders, the knight nodding curtly as he hastens back to the gates. 

“You know,” Linhardt muses, “Is it just me, or are the knights more… disciplined than before?” 

“It was the attack,” Jeralt explains, “The expedition to the margravate may have been a learning experience for all of them about serving the people, the explosions made them all realize that being a knight isn’t about status or honor. It certainly knocked some sense into them because they haven't complained once when we do morning drills before we resume cleaning up around the monastery. I just hope this new discipline of theirs doesn’t fade away once we can get things returning to normal.” 

“Or as close to normal as we can get,” Shamir corrects, “I highly doubt this attack is going to just vanish from everyone’s minds once the damage has been covered up.” 

“Well, you’re certainly not wrong,” Jeralt says with a light chuckle before he returns his attention to the far door, listening to the voices approaching. 

The door opens, revealing Casper and Ferdinand having a heated discussion, oblivious to their once lost friend standing in the middle of the hall. 

“So what if your father tries to make you emperor?” Casper says, “It’s not like the other nobles would support it.” 

“That’s the thing, they do support it,” Ferdinand replies while wiping his hair, “If Edelgard is found, they’ll back off, but if she’s not, I may be next in line and I might not have a choice.” 

“Then talk to your father and tell him that you don’t want that responsibility,” Casper says with a head shake before turning to face the room, his eyes immediately landing on Linhardt. 

Ferdinand also shakes his head and says, “You’re one to-” 

Before he can finish, Casper's eyes go wide as he shouts, “LINHARDT!!!” And starts sprinting over to his friend. Ferdinand looks up as well and joins Casper in sprinting. 

Linhardt braces himself as Casper barrels into him, somehow keeping his footing as Casper buries his head into Linhardt’s chest, sobbing profusely as he says, “You’re alive.” 

Ferdinand quickly follows and embraces Linhardt as well, followed by Dorothea and Petra once they enter the reception hall, many tears being shed by everyone in the group hug. Slowly, the remaining students enter the hall, all shocked by Linhardt’s sudden return. 

“Oh my Goddess,” Annette whispers, “If… if he’s back… then….” 

“Let’s allow them a chance to calm down before we say anything,” Jeralt says to Catherine and Shamir, all three discretely stepping off to the side as they try to hide their own tears of joy. 

After ten minutes of all the students checking on Linhardt and bombarding him with question after question, Jeralt steps forward and says, “Alright. I understand you are all excited to see Linhardt alive, but I can confirm with good authority that the remaining students who went missing are also alive and well.” This is met with loud cheering from the students, though one student in particular just held his chin pensively. 

“If Linhardt is here,” Felix begins once the cheering dies down, “Then where is everyone else?” 

Jeralt sighs quietly as he says, “I’ll have to explain what’s going on. A few days ago, we made contact with the missing students. We confirmed that they were all indeed alive and well, having found a few allies that helped them survive. Moreover,” Jeralt looks over at Seteth as he continues, “They managed to locate Flayn and Princess Edelgard.” 

The crowd collectively gasps as Seteth steps forward, Dorothea asking, “Seteth, is that true? Is that the reason we had to return so quickly?” 

“Yes,” he says, “I didn’t announce it at the time because we were in the middle of the Empire and we simply didn’t know who or what could be watching us. I decided it would’ve been best to keep it hidden until we got here. Also, I believe the Captain has more to say.” 

Jeralt nods and continues, “To answer Felix’s questions as to where they are, we confirmed that they are below us, in an ancient crypt called the Abyss. We only know of one accessible entrance on the cliffside, only reachable by pegasus or wyvern. However, according to the newfound allies who call themselves the Ashen Wolves, we believe that there is a ground entrance at the bottom of the cliff.” 

“You say that like it won’t be easy,” Ingrid points out, many of the other students murmuring in agreement. 

“You’re right,” Jeralt confirms with a heavy sigh, “That is because we also confirmed that Those Who Slither In The Dark have commandeered half of the Abyss.” 

“Ah shit,” Sylvain audibly whispers as everyone’s hope turns to concern. He then asks, “We’re going to get rid of them, right?” 

“That is the plan,” Jeralt confirms, “I want everyone to sort their equipment and pack what is necessary. I want all of you to sleep here for the night while all the knights and I secure the ground entrance. Tomorrow morning, the rest of you will join us at the bottom entrance so we can start moving in and save your classmates, Flayn, and Byleth. Any questions?” 

“Who will guard the monastery?” Ignatz asks as he raises his hand. 

“I will,” Jeritza says from the doorway leading to the bridge, startling everyone present, “If the captain allows it, I will ensure that the guards that remain here can keep this place safe.” 

“I have no objections,” Jeralt confirms, “I’m certain the monastery guards will answer to you. Any questions beyond that?” 

None of the remaining students raise their hands, and Jeralt quickly dismisses them before turning to Seteth and asking, “What will you do? You are more than welcome to-” 

“I’m joining you,” Seteth says quickly, “I need to get to Flayn.” 

Jeralt nods and says, “Very well then. While the knights and I are clearing the entrance, you can guide the students down the cliff.” 

“No, leave that to Manuela and Hanneman,” Seteth says, “You will need me down there when we face TWSITD.” Seteth then looks away briefly, as if conflicted by something, before looking back at Jeralt and asking, “Mind if we walk?” 

“Um… sure,” Jeralt says with a shrug, quickly giving orders to Gilbert, Catherine, and Shamir to get the knights ready for the late-night expedition. Seteth leads Jeralt into the empty, half-ruined gardens, stopping by the table. Seteth turns his head to look at one of the young rose bushes that survived the fires, one that Flayn had helped Dedue plant a few months prior. 

“Captain,” Seteth whispers, “Did they offer any explanation as to why Edelgard took Flayn?” 

“You know?” Jeralt asks. 

“Alois told me,” Seteth replies, not turning back to him, “He said that Edelgard took Flayn to protect her. He also said that Edelgard once had a vendetta against the Church. What could’ve changed?” 

Jeralt mulls over the details he knew in his head before saying, “I don’t know. I don’t want to assume anything, but given what they’ve had to go up against, I can only guess that something happened between Edelgard and TWSITD before all this happened. Do you remember when the imperial family started dropping like flies?” 

“Yes, actually,” Seteth says, “I still remember delivering the first report of it to Rhea.” 

“What did she say?” 

“She asked that I let her handle it,” Seteth says, “It made me sick to my stomach when she declared that the imperial family’s fate was tied to their transgressions against the Church and the Goddess. Knowing now that TWSITD has infiltrated the empire, knowing that Edelgard might have taken Flayn to keep her away from them, I only want an explanation out of Edelgard for why she chose the path she did.” Seteth pauses for a second before saying, “Also, there is something that I feel you need to know.” 

“What could that be?” Jeralt asks nervously. 

Seteth takes a deep breath before saying, “Ever since you came back here, I’ve noticed just how little you actually trust Rhea. While normally I wouldn’t say anything, her recent behavior has shown me that she needs to face reality as it stands, not from the window of her audience chamber.” 

“Even then, she will likely take exception for some of the things that have happened,” Jeralt says, “She’s the Archbishop. She holds a high amount of power over everyone here.” 

“A power that is corrupting her,” Seteth says with a low growl, shocking Jeralt, “If she doesn’t face the reality that is in front of her, she will snap and bring chaos down upon Fodlan. I’m only saying this as her advisor, as someone who has watched her as the years have taken its toll on her.” 

“But what can she do?” Jeralt asks, “What power will she have if she turns everyone against her?” 

“More than you could ever know,” Seteth whispers, “I’ve seen how she can get. She has laid low entire armies that have stood against her, destroyed an entire nation, and stood against all the relics and emerged victoriously.” 

Jeralt steps back, confused and concerned by what Seteth is saying. He gulps nervously as he asks, “What do you mean?” 

Seteth closes his eyes, brushing his hair back as he says, “A truth that everyone will know once this is over,” revealing long pointed ears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are so close. So freaking close it's not even funny anymore. Only two more chapters until this nonsense in the Abyss is over. 
> 
> And then there's Rhea that needs to be dealt with.


	31. Battle Sirens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Epic guitar and EDM noises because there are no lyrics!”- Tom Morello ft. Knife Party

Shamir slowly walked across the branch on which she is perched, peering through the leaves and branches as she calmly observes the soldiers guarding the stone doors on the cliff face. She counted six men, all heavily armored and carrying swords and axes. However, at least two of the guards were fools, having removed their helmets and sitting down next to the door, having a small conversation. What they said didn’t concern her though as she gauged each of her adversaries’ armor weak points. She slowly draws an arrow with her bow, aiming at the guards. Then, while barely making a sound herself, the arrow flew from her and struck the foremost guard in the neck. His reaction was immediate as he fell to the ground, clutching the arrow that lodged in his neck as the other guards quickly drew their arms. It sickened her that they so willingly ignored their ally’s distress, but she was already drawing an arrow to end the life of at least one other guard. As she sends another arrow at one of the helmetless guards, Catherine emerges from the woods, bringing Thunderbrand down on the head of a sword-bearing guard, crushing the helmet. On her right, Gilbert swings his lance over his head and catches the other helmetless guard in the throat, and Alois emerges as he sweeps his ax from below and drives it into the fifth guard's hip, cleaving right through. As the last guard tries desperately to open the stone doorway, he is quickly struck by an emerald fireball that burns him alive, drawing a painful scream from his lips as he collapses in pain. 

Shamir jumps down from the tree and lands next to Jeralt and Seteth, following them out of the trees and into a small clearing by the door. 

“So this must be it then,” she says, ripping her arrows from the corpses she made as more knights emerge from the forest. 

“Sure as Hell hope so,” Gilbert replies, “If they were guarding it, then it must be of some value to them.” 

“That was too easy, if you ask me,” Catherine says, “If this is the only other entrance, they should’ve been guarding it with everything they’ve got.” 

“Don’t start making assumptions just yet,” Jeralt says calmly, “There could be more inside that we don’t know about. Once we open it up, we’ll know for certain.” 

“Let’s not waste time then,” Catherine says while taking up a position next to the door, “You ready?” 

“Always,” Shamir replies while positioning across from her, notching an arrow as she nods at Alois and Gilbert. 

“Very well, then,” Jeralt says as he steps forward, his ax resting on his shoulder, “Once we enter, secure the bottom-most floor. Don’t start moving up until the students have arrived tomorrow.” 

As Seteth charges another fireball, one powerful enough to clear an entire room, Jeralt tests the strength of the door, throwing his weight against it. Alois walks up next to him, and they both nod before bringing their legs up and kicking the door open with ease. Jeralt briefly takes note of the dozen more soldiers just inside before jumping out of the doorway. Glaring at the entrance, Seteth unleashes the fireball and incinerates the unsuspecting soldiers inside, leaving trails of scorch marks and fried skeletons in its wake. 

Shamir moved in first, picking off a stray soldier as she rounded a corner, and Catherine quickly ran down the hall with Alois and Gilbert following close behind. Jeralt turned back to the remaining knights and said, “This is your first true test. Failure means death. I expect none of you dead by the end of tonight. Let's move!” 

\--------------

_ The next morning… _

Manuela and Hanneman, after gathering all the students together and ensuring they were all properly equipped, are currently evaluating Leonie’s leg just outside of the monastery gates before marching down. 

“I must say,” Hanneman says, “Linhardt has proven to be quite a skilled faith mage.” 

“Indeed,” Manuela agrees as she helps Leonie to her feet, “Normally, I would ask you to stay here, but if you stay away from physical combat, you should be just fine.” 

“I come from a family of hunters,” Leonie says with immense pride as she shoulders her travel bag and arrow quiver, “It won’t be an issue.” 

“We’d best not waste time,” Hanneman says while walking to the other students, “If you're ready, let's get moving. I don’t want to keep your classmates or the knights waiting any longer than they have to.” 

“Woohoo!” Casper shouts with joy, “Let’s kick some TWSITD ass!” 

“While normally I wouldn’t say something so uncouth,” Lorenz replies with a grin, “Let’s kick some ass indeed.” 

“What has become of the boys in this academy?” Manuela asks in mild defeat as they start marching down the cliff’s edge. 

“Our friends essentially got buried alive by those bastards,” Dorothea answers, “I am not at all surprised by their language. Personally, I think we should allow Ingrid and Sylvain to-” 

“I would rather they not,” Manuela interrupts, “They need to keep in mind the lecture that Seteth gave them about cruel and unusual punishment.” 

Dorothea sighs in defeat as they all continue their march down. 

About an hour later, they reach the stone doors at the bottom of the cliff, a small camp erected by the knights around the entrance. 

“You made it,” Alois says tiredly from the door, his armor lightly caked in dried blood and dirt. 

“Well you’ve been busy,” Hanneman observes, “Leave anything for us to fight down here?” 

“On this floor, no,” Alois says with a grin, “But we haven’t advanced further yet. Just follow me.” 

Hanneman, Manuela, and the students all follow Alois into the hallway, passing by rooms filled with the bodies of the dead. “Good Goddess,” Linhardt whispers in horror. 

“Pay them no mind,” Alois says, “None of our knights were wounded severely last night during the initial raid. As of right now, our primary goal is to continue our advance up and reclaim at least one, maybe two floors a day with one hundred percent certainty that they are secure and free of any enemy.” 

“But TWSITD can teleport,” Linhardt says, “That would mean stationing at least several knights per room as we advance.” 

“We’ve kept that in mind,” Alois says as they conveniently pass a room with a few mages planting an enchantment, “The mages are placing anti-teleportation runes courtesy of Seteth that will keep TWSITD at bay.” 

“That’s good,” Sylvain says while nudging Annette, “Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from them.” 

“I think I stay with casting, thank you very much,” Annette replies, “I never really had much of a talent for enchantments, anyway.” 

“Maybe Lysithea or Hubert could pick it up then,” Sylvain muses, only for Seteth to suddenly interrupt his train of thought. 

“Enchantments take time,” he says, “Simply setting one up in the middle of a battlefield is sure to spell disaster for the mage and their allies.” 

“Is Jeralt ready for them?” Alois asks once Seteth is finished. 

“Right this way, please,” Seteth says simply as he leads the students to the briefing room. 

\--------------

“We don’t know just how many floors are between us and the other students,” Jeralt says towards the end of the meeting, “So our primary goal is to keep the attention of TWSITD focused on us so we can give them some breathing room and allow them a chance to advance.” 

“Suppose we reach them before TWSITD has been driven out,” Leonie says hypothetically, “Do we evacuate them, or do we allow them to continue fighting.” 

“I’ll leave that as their decision,” Jeralt answers, “Most likely they will continue to fight though, so don’t start celebrating if or when we reach them. I will only consider this mission successful and finished once TWSITD has been evicted from the Abyss and we can properly secure it.” 

“And what of this Aelfric and Chalice of Beginnings you mentioned?” Ferdinand asks. 

“If he surrenders, leave him to me,” Jeralt says with a sigh, “Otherwise if he fights, don't hesitate to subdue him. The last thing we need is for him to run away with TWSITD, especially with that chalice. Any further questions?” 

After getting no response from the remaining students, Jeralt dismisses them as Alois leads them away. Once the door is closed and he is alone, Jeralt slumps in a chair, exhausted from the all-night fighting he had to face. ‘Can’t even remember the last time fighting like this left me this tired.’

He feels himself start to doze off, though he tries to keep himself awake. 

“Don’t start snoozing on me yet, Captain,” a young voice suddenly says, “I still need to talk to you.” 

“I would, Leonie,” Jeralt says tiredly, “But last night had me….” Jeralt suddenly snaps out of his exhaustion once he realizes that he is still alone in the room. He stands from the chair and looks around, trying to pinpoint the location of whoever spoke. 

The voice suddenly speaks again from seemingly nowhere, “You know, the worst part about this is that you’ve had the most normal reaction thus far from hearing me. One person threatened me, another just didn’t care, and one just fell out of their chair when I announced myself.” 

Jeralt takes a step back, unsure if his tired mind was playing tricks on him or if he were dreaming. “What the Hell?” he asks, “Who are you?” 

“I think your daughter already told you about me about a month ago,” the voice says smugly, “Call me Sothis.” 

“Sothis? Wait,” Jeralt remembers back to when he and Byleth spoke about what was really going on behind his back, and remembers her explaining at length just who Sothis is and who can communicate with her. “Yes. She did explain who you are. Why are you here?” 

“Let’s just say that I’m aware of what you and Seteth discussed yesterday in the garden,” Sothis says, “Byleth had asked me to keep an eye on you all until you started advancing into the Abyss, and I happened to pick up on your talk with Seteth about Rhea’s actual history.” 

“What do you know?” Jeralt asks. 

“Enough that Flayn can corroborate Seteth’s story,” Sothisd answers, “Also, before you ask, yes, everyone else above you is already aware of the truth themselves. No, we didn’t force an answer out of Flayn, she did so willingly.” 

“Frankly that is not what I wanted to hear,” Jeralt groans, “Once we get them out, Rhea will be absolutely livid about it.” 

“Hence why I am going to talk to her once we do get out,” Sothis replies, “Besides, I’m certain she will listen to me.” 

“I’d ask how, but I have a feeling you won’t answer,” Jeralt says with a sigh. 

“Yep,” Sothis says with an unseen wink, “It’s a secret between myself and most everyone else above us.” Sothis then takes a deep breath before changing the topic, “Look. They’ve been trapped in a room for a couple of days now, only ever venturing out to grab water from a well. I can act as a messenger and a scout for all of you, but Byleth can only start advancing once you grab TWSITD’s undivided attention.” 

“That can be doable,” Jeralt agrees, “Need anything else?” 

“Do you think you can set up a meeting between all the crest bearers on this floor?” Sothis asks, “I want all of them to be on the same page, and before you ask, yes all the crest-bearing students know of me.” 

“I’ll… see what I can do,” Jeralt replies while rubbing his eyes, “For now, I just need to get some sleep.” 

“Get some rest, captain,” Sothis says, “I’ll let Byleth and the others know that you’re here.” 

\--------------

Leonie looked down the seemingly empty hall, carefully counting the number of doors lining it. “I’ve got… seven doors, all closed up ahead,” She reports to Lorenz, Marianne, Ignatz, and Raphael behind her. 

“So one by one then?” Lorenz asks, to which Leonie nods as she allows her classmates to walk past her stealthily as she continues to watch the hallway from the corner. Ignatz quickly picks the lock of the first door and the others quietly enter the room, though they don’t find anything of particular note. Then leave the room and proceed to the next door, entering it again but finding little. 

Before they leave that room though, Leonie quietly jogs up to the room, placing herself at the door with her bow drawn as she says, “One of the doors ahead just opened, wait one,” and she notches an arrow as she peaks carefully down the hall. A lone, black-armored soldier had emerged from the room and was slowly walking up the hallway towards their room. Leonie just takes a deep breath before pulling her arrow to full draw and unleashing it at the soldier, hitting him between his eyes and killing him instantly. However, the clanking of his armor as he falls draws the attention of the other soldiers in that room and a few other rooms as their doors fly open, files of soldiers emerging. 

“Time to go,” Leonie says after confirming that no archers were among the enemy. She beckons her classmates to run out and follows them, a slew of curses and screaming behind them as the soldiers give chase. They twist down several halls and down a set of stairs, arriving at where their remaining classmates and the knights had set up an ambush in a more open room. 

“At least nineteen are coming,” Leonie shouts as she takes a position in the rear of the blockade, an arrow already notched as she aims at the stairs. As expected, the foolish soldiers emerge into the room and are brought down by scores of arrows and spells. The few that made it through volleys were subsequently killed once they reached the blockade. 

“Wew,” Ignatz says, “I think it’s the Eagles turn, now.” 

“Really?” Ferdinand asks, “I thought it was the Lions next; we went before you.”

“He’s right, Ignatz,” Sylvain says as he shoulders the Lance of Ruin, “It’s our turn.” 

“Oh, right,” Ignatz says, slightly embarrassed. 

“We’ll do this a few more times before moving up,” Hanneman says, “Hopefully if TWSITD is none the wiser, they won’t even realize what we are doing.” 

“Let’s get moving then,” Sylvain declares as he leads Ingrid, Annette, and Felix up the stairs. 

“And we need a break,” Raphael says as he sits down, “That’s the twenty-eighth ambush we’ve had to do today.” 

“Yes, but it only took us twelve times to clear out the second floor,” Ferdinand points out, “Besides, if there is something we can’t overcome easily on the next floors, all we need to do is get them choked on a set of stairs and we’re pretty much set.” 

Dorothea rolls her eyes at Ferdinand and says, “Underhanded the tactic may be, it has worked out for us a little too well. I would not be surprised if they started wisening up and stopped following us once they reached the stairs.” 

“Very true,” Petra says in agreement, “We’d have to start planning a new strategy once they get wise.” 

“Yeah… what she said,'' Casper adds, “We’d best start planning for the eventuality now while we have time.” 

“Any ideas?” Leonie asks from the side. 

Before they can answer, Sylvain and the other blue Lions emerge from the stairs, and everyone quickly takes up positions as a dozen more soldiers run into their trap. Once the fighting dies down, Ferdinand says, “To answer your question Leonie, no, I don’t have any ideas yet.” 

“Well it’s not like you’ve had any ideas, to begin with,” Sylvain answers jokingly, unaware of the conversion beforehand. 

“Gee, thanks,” Ferdinand replies with a glare before gathering the Eagles and proceeding up the stairs, leaving the remaining students to laugh at his expense. 

\--------------

_ A few hours later… _

Jeralt is sitting in a large room, one recently commandeered by the students. ‘This will work for the meeting,’ he tells himself as Seteth enters the room. 

“The students you requested will be here shortly alongside Hanneman and Catherine,” he announces before asking, “But why them specifically? If it is something of importance, perhaps having everyone present would make more sense.” 

“You’ll understand once the meeting starts,” Jeralt answers, “It's something that I won’t be able to share with everyone because it won’t affect everyone.” 

“If that is the case,” Seteth says with a shrug before standing next to him. After a few minutes, all the students that bear a crest enter the room and are followed by Catherine and Hanneman as well. 

“I do hope this is important, Captain,” Hanneman asks, “We’ve only just found the next set of stairs leading to the third floor and we hope to establish a foothold before long.” 

“I appreciate the effort, but I need to bring everyone up to date on a few things,” Jeralt replies, “Please close the door.” 

Hanneman nods and closes the door as requested as Catherine asks, “What do you need to tell us?” 

“Not him, me,” a voice from nowhere answers, drawing a gasp from the students while Catherine and Hanneman start looking around the room, confused. As for Seteth, the color from his face visibly drains as he too looks around the room, more scared than confused. 

“Wait, Sothis?” Ferdinand asks, “Is that you?” 

“Sothis?” Catherine asks incredulously, “You know that… whatever it is?” 

“I’d appreciate it if you don’t call me a ‘whatever it is’,” Sothis replies sarcastically, causing Catherine to take a step back fearfully as Hanneman’s eyes fill with wonder. 

“By the Goddess,” Hanneman whispers, “It’s a… *cough*... excuse me, but what are you?” 

“Um… the Goddess you mentioned?” Sothis replies, causing Hanneman’s jaw to drop as Catherine starts stepping quietly to the door. 

“No…” she whispers, “It… you can’t be….” 

“Catherine,” Marianne whispers, drawing the knight's attention, “It’s ok. We were just as shocked as you when we met her.” 

“I… never thought… in a million years… I would meet…” Hanneman pulls a notebook from his jacket pocket and starts writing fervently, not caring for the stares he got as Mairanne and Ingrid did what they could to calm Catherine down. As for Seteth…

“Are you going to be alright?” Jeralt whispers, Seteth’s eyes closed as he took deep breaths to calm himself. 

“So, something really was released from the tomb,” Seteth says once he calms down, “And the students knew before we did.” 

“Quite a reaction from you, though,” Jeralt observes, “Care to talk about it?” 

Seteth looks over at the captain and replies, “If we get out of this alive, maybe later.” 

As Catherine and Hanneman both calm down, Sothis asks, “Are you two good?”

“Maybe?” Catherine says uncertainty, “How… can you talk to us anyway?” 

“All of you bear crests,” Sothis answers, “It’s the reason the students know and it’s the reason I could get Jeralt to set up this meeting with everyone.” 

“Wait a second,” Linhardt interrupts as he points a finger at Jeralt, “You bear a crest?” 

“It’s a long story I’d rather not share until after we get out of this Abyss,” Jeralt replies, drawing a groan of disappointment from the boy, “If things go well, you’ll be the first to know.” 

Felix, wanting to get back to the point, asks Sothis, “Now that you’ve announced yourself, what do you want to tell us?” 

“First of all,” Sothis begins, “I need to update you on what’s been happening. The only reason that your ambush strategy is working is that TWSITD is allowing it to work. Their attention is still focused on the students above. However, what they don’t realize is, first, I exist, and second, I happened to have found a route you can take that will get you all directly to the heart of their operation while meeting little resistance.” 

“Where?” Sylvain asks immediately. 

“You’re going to have to follow my voice to find it,” Sothis answers, “To try and explain where it is and how to access it would be too difficult in my state.” 

“If that is the case, what are you proposing?” asks Jeralt, “We need viable strategies to get the other students out of here.” 

“Therein lies the problem,” Sothis answers with a sigh, “Most of the Ashen Wolves got captured.” 

“Shit,” Jeralt whispers as the other students start murmuring worriedly. 

“So we have to get to them,” Lorenz says, “What happens when we do?” 

“Here’s what we are going to do,” Sothis starts, “The knights are going to have to make a tremendous push up the stairs. They will meet heavy resistance, but it will draw TWSITD’s attention. Once the attack starts, the students and their professors will advance up the other way, which will hopefully be poorly defended. If all goes well, once you reach the heart of the operation where their field leaders are waiting, you will be meeting the remaining students above before you have to fight anything.” 

“Will they be taking a similar route?” Ingrid asks, “Because if they are, we could go up and meet them before returning down to face off against anyone.” 

“If we do that, then we risk TWSITD discovering the secret,” Sothis answers, “I think it served as an escape tunnel should anyone have attacked this place years ago. It is sealed off with a few cleverly placed loose bricks and false doors, and seems to reach the middlemost floor of the Abyss..” 

“So our classmates could’ve used it to escape?” Ferdinand asks. 

“Believe it or not, that was the plan,” Sothis answers, “They are currently waiting on the topmost floor where this escape tunnel starts, but when the Ashen Wolves got taken, I had to abandon that plan and rework a new one.” 

“And having the students escape would’ve meant the whole of the Abyss would’ve been taken over,” Jeralt adds, “Knowing we can cut off the head of the snake like this without risking too many lives is a strategy worth taking. I am confident that you all can pull this off.” 

“Won’t they call for reinforcements, though?” Dorothea asks worriedly, “They can teleport.” 

“Taken care of,” Sothis answers confidently, “You can thank Edelgard and the mages once you get back to them.” 

“The princess did it?” Felix asks in shock. 

“Yeah, though I did have to help her a bit,” Sothis answers, “And don’t forget Hubert, Lysithea, and Mercedes either. They all had to expend a lot of energy just to charge the damn thing, but it was certainly worth it to keep TWSITD out once we kick them out.” 

Everyone silently looks at each other as the revelation of Edelgard’s assistance washes over them, before Seteth asks, “I’m only asking this once: Do you trust the princess?” 

Sothis remained quiet for a second before answering confidently, “If I were alive, with my life.” 

Seteth nods his head and says, “Then we haven't a moment to lose. Students, get the remainder of your classmates and professor Manuela and bring them here. Captain, I won’t command your knights for you, but Sothis’s plan should push TWSITD out of here for good.” 

“I’ll start gathering them together and prepare to push,” Jeralt answers with a nod before walking over to the door, “I’m going to need your help, Catherine.” 

“Um… yes, captain,” she answers nervously before hurrying to his side and leaving the room with the students dispersing themselves to find their classmates. 

“I’ll look for Manuela, professor,” Seteth tells Hanneman as he leaves, “I’ll allow you a few minutes with Sothis.” 

“Most appreciated,” Hanneman replies as he flips the page in his notebook, “Now, the questions I have for you.” 

“Oh boy,” Sothis sighs as she braces for Hanneman’s barrage. 

\--------------

“Where are we going?” Dorothea asks Ferdinand as he and Seteth lead the students down an empty hallway. 

“Remember a couple of months ago when we heard that voice in the Holy Mausoleum?” Ferdinand asks in response. 

“I thought only the crest beares heard the voice,” Petra answers in turn. 

“You’re right,” Ferdinand replies, “Let’s just say the voice returned and is leading us to a secret.” 

“What kind of secret?” Raphael asks, “How do we know that this voice can be trusted?” 

“Because we became properly acquainted with this voice the next day,” Lorenz answers, “She calls herself Sothis.”

Leonie eyes Lorenz warily and says, “Either all of you are trying to pull a fast one on us or you all have gone crazy.” 

Seteth audibly sighs and replies, “Personally, I wish we were going crazy.” 

“So… she’s real then?” Ignatz asks, drawing a nod from Seteth and Hanneman. 

“Indeed, though don’t ever ask her to sing,” Hanneman answers, “She’s tone-deaf in the worst way.” Hanneman’s attention is drawn ahead for a second before he says, “I do have an appreciation for the arts,  _ you _ just can’t sing!” 

Again, a moment of silence occurs before Ferdinand says, “Perhaps if Dorothea were able to hear you, then she could point out what you’re doing wrong.” 

Then, after yet another second of silence, Hanneman suddenly shouts, “PLEASE DON’T!”

All of the non-crest-bearing students and Manuela take a cautious step away from the crest beares before continuing down the hallway until Seteth asks everyone to stop. 

“This one?” Seteth asks the air as he points to a brick, only to move his finger up one more and presses his finger into it. The brick gives way and a hidden door opens up, revealing a cramped spiral staircase leading up. 

“You know Sothis,” Sylvain says with a sigh, “You could’ve told us how small it was.” 

Sylvain stands still for a moment before saying, “Fair enough. No point in standing here doing nothing. Let’s get going.” All the students, Hanneman, Manuela, and Seteth start ascending the stairs. 

“Where are we going?” Raphael asks as he squeezes himself into the cramped stairwell, “You never said.” 

“Up, obviously,” Sylvain answers slyly before getting serious, “This should lead us right to our classmates and the base of operations for TWSITD.” 

“Swell,” Raphael says as he struggles up the staircase. 

\--------------

Sothis emerges into the room where Byleth and the other students are, declaring, “They are on their way up and the knights have engaged with TWSITD.” 

The students who can hear her cheer quietly as Anna whispers, “I don’t think I will ever get used to that.” 

“I didn’t even know you had a crest,” Byleth responds to Anna, “Which one was it again?” 

“Well, growing up I was told my ancestor was a guy named Ernest and he supposedly was the original bearer, but I could never find any information on him,” Anna replies, “Another one of my family’s great mysteries, I guess.” 

“Another mystery for another day,” Byleth replies as she shoulders her pack, “Let’s just get ready to move down.” 

“I couldn’t agree more,” Anna replies as she also shoulders her pack, “So what’s the plan now?” 

“Frist, we get to the escape tunnel, which is just around the corner,” Sothis begins, “Second, we meet the other students on the floor where the second ritual is set to take place. After we take a moment to reunite and exchange pleasantries, we run to the ritual room. If all goes well, we save the Ashen Wolves, stop the ritual from taking place, and get TWSITD out of here for good.” 

“Simple, yet insane,” Anna says while holding her finger against her chin, “Just the way I like it.” 

“Let’s get to it,” Byleth says as she leads her students, the Abyssians, Anna, John, and Yuri out of the room and quickly arrives at the hidden staircase. 

“Now,” Sothis says as Byleth presses the brick to open the door, “Fair warning. A bit cramped.” 

“Not a problem,” Dedue says as he peers down the stairwell. 

“So long as no one trips we should be fine,” Edelgard says as everyone starts descending, Claude leading as Byleth takes up the rear. As they descend, Sothis periodically leaves them and brings back reports of the knights and their other classmates' advances, mostly good news since the knights are progressing quickly through the floors. 

“Well, the plan might change on the fly again,” Sothis says in her final report, “The knights are moving too quickly.” 

“Either TWSITD is telling their soldiers to fall back,” Edelgard theorizes, “Or they had fewer resources than we thought.” 

“Yes and no,” Sothis answers, “Yes, they are starting to feel the pressure of being cornered, but nothing is more dangerous than a cornered… well anything.” 

“We’re essentially pushing them into the ninth situation of war,” Byleth says. 

“Ninth situation?” Hilda asks, “What’s that?” 

“Desperate ground,” Sothis answers, “It’s a concept not native to Fodlan, in a book titled the Art of War by Sun Tzu. It describes desperate ground as having all of you men surrounded with no discernable escape. On desperate ground, you fight.” 

“And TWSITD must know that they will be cornered,” Claude adds, “The question is, what will be waiting for us once we get there?” 

“I fear what it might be,” Byleth whispers as they continue descending in silence. 

Then, five minutes later, Sothis says, “Guys, stop.” 

“Why?” Claude asks as they stop. 

“This brick,” Sothis replies as she points at the wall. Claude, since he can’t see her like Edelgard and Byleth, points to the brick to the upper right of the one Sothis is pointing to. “No, down one and one left.” 

Claude moves his hand over to the other brick and presses in, a stone door opening and revealing a small room where some familiar faces stare at the doorway in shock. Once Claude realizes his eyes aren’t playing tricks on him, he says, “Well don’t all start crying at once.” 

As if on cue, Dorothea, Ingrid, and Annette burst into tears as Lorenz, Ignatz, and Raphael all swarm the door, nearly crushing their house leader in a bear hug as Raphael cries, “You're alive!” 

“That’s nice, but” Claude struggles to say before gasping for breath once they let go, “Let me out so the others can get out too.” 

One by one, all of those who were trapped finally reunited with their friends. Hilda nearly jumped into Marianne’s arms, burying her head into her shoulder as they shed tears of joy. Dorothea, Manuela, and Petra were quick to embrace Edelgard and Bernadetta once they emerged while Hubert just got pats on his back from Casper and Ferdinand, Linhardt just nodding at him. Lysithea, Cyril, and Mercedes, although largely ignored since they weren’t missing to begin with, also received a warm welcome from their classmates. Dimitri found himself being nearly tackled by Felix, which surprised him, to say the least, but he didn’t complain as Sylvain, Ingrid, and Annette also joined the embrace while dragging Ashe and Hanneman along. As for Flayn, once she spotted Seteth, she jumped into his arms, the two of them embracing each other tightly as Dedue walked over to the pair. 

Seteth looked over the man while listening to Flayn whisper in his ear. He just sighs once he puts Flayn down and says quietly, “If what Flayn whispered to me is true, then you and I need to have a long talk once we get out.” 

“I won’t object,” Dedue replies quietly enough so that no one else hears, “But do keep in mind what might be best for you daughter.” 

While Seteth doesn’t seem visibly shocked by this, he does simply nod with a small grin at the man before returning his attention to the other reunions occurring. 

Byleth enters the room last, the Abyssians, Anna, John, and Yuri all standing off to the side to not interfere. As she scans the room, she notices Leonie standing away from the group, not showing any emotion. ‘Headstrong and stubborn as always,’ Byleth thinks as she rolls her eyes, walking over to the girl. Leonie notices Byleth approaching and tries to appear normal, though Byleth could tell that she had been bottling her emotions for some time now. 

“Well,” Byleth begins once she reaches Leonie, “Aren’t going to at least say hello?” 

“Um…” Leonie looks away as she speaks, “Yeah… um, hi. It’s… nice to see you… alive...and….” 

Byleth gets a sad smile as she says, “You don’t need to hide it. You can tell me.” 

“I… I’m not hiding… um,” Leonie getting defensive, trying to keep up a mask of indifference as her true emotions showed, “I mean… I was just… nervous is all…. A-a-and… I….” Byleth just steps closer and holds her arms out. “I… I was…. I….” Leonie breaks down completely as she buries her face into Byleth, crying softly as she says, “I was so scared… I thought you were dead….” 

“It’s ok,” Byleth whispers soothingly, a few tears of her own starting to fall, “We’re alive and that’s what matters.” 

Yuri just scowls off to the side, not saying anything that could ruin this mass reunion. His thoughts drift to his own friends, and what they must be suffering through right now. He feels his shoulder being nudged, and he looks over at Brock as he asks, “What?” 

Brock answers, “We’ll get to them, don’t worry.” 

Yuri, showing a brief smirk, says, “Strange words coming from a bandit.” 

“Least I can offer to the man that saved me from myself,” Brock replies as their attention returns to the students. 

After a few minutes of questions being asked and answered, everything from Edelgard’s armor to Flayn’s overall condition, Sothis interrupts and says, “Alright, I know you are all happy to see each other, but we still have a situation that needs to be dealt with before we can celebrate properly.” 

The crest bearers shush the non-crest bearers down as Ferdinand asks, “So what’s the plan?” 

“Well,” Sothis darts out of the room for a second and immediately returns to say, “The Knights advanced quicker than expected. I say we push with everything we’ve got until we reach the ritual room.” 

“Ritual room?” Ingrid asks. 

“We’ll explain later,” Byleth says as she readies the Sword of the Creator, “For now, let’s get TWSITD out of this Abyss.” 

“Let’s do this, people!” Sothis shouts as Byleth opens the main doors and everyone ventures forth. 

\--------------

“This is getting interesting,” Odesse whispers as Aelfric quietly prepares the Rite of Rising. 

Kronya rolls her eyes and says, “At this rate, we will have to move the ritual somewhere else.”   
  


Odesse quickly pulls Kronya to whisper something in her ear, an evil smile gracing her face once he finishes explaining. This smile seriously unnerved Aelfric, but he had to focus on ensuring the ritual could be completed properly. 

“Odesse,” A guard announces, “The Knights of Seiros are one floor away, sir.”

“Good,” Odesse declares, drawing a confused hum from the guard, “Have our elite forces remain here and send everything else we’ve got at the knights. Keep them at bay for as long as possible.”

The guard nods and runs to the door and groups of heavily armored soldiers emerge as other soldiers run out. 

“This better be worth my patients, Odesse,” Solon grumbles angrily, “Otherwise, I’ll leave you to the rats once they get here.” 

“Trust me, old friend,” Odesse reassures, “Regardless if this works or fails, we will get more than what we bargained for. Besides,” Odesse whispers into Solon’s ear as he reaches into his coat pocket, “We just need the last one and our work is finished.” He pulls out three vials of blood, each labeled with a different crest symbol. 

Solon sniffs dismissively at this and says, “It’s either him or you,” as he walks away, shaking his head. 

Then, another guard enters the room and says, “Odesse, the students from the academy are already on this floor!” 

“The missing ones?” 

“No sir,” the guard shakes his head, “All of them! They got reunited somehow and are charging here as we speak!” 

“Looks like it’s plan B then,” Odesse whispers, “Kronya, bring the prisoners. We need some leverage over them.” Kronya shrugs and walks over to a back room as Aelfric starts visibly sweating. 

“I just need a little more time,” Aelfric whispers. 

“And time I shall get you,” Odesse replies as he charges a spell in his hands, “Besides, they still have the last one we need for this. I say we put on a show before we get serious.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The band is back together and it's coming down to the wire. 
> 
> Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves, for all Hell will break loose. 
> 
> "From the ashes, you will rise..."
> 
> P.S.- The series name has officially been changed, mostly because I felt 'Fodlan's Fate' was a little too cheesy (and could be confused as a Three Houses/Fates crossover) and didn't fit the naming convention I've set up for the chapter and story titles.


	32. Phoenix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Like fire from the Sun  
> In bursts of flames, the Phoenix dies  
> But life has only just begun  
> From the ashes you will rise”-Scandroid

Byleth ran down the hallways, slaughtering any unfortunate guard or soldier that dared cross her or her students’ path. 

She stops at a large door, her students, Manuela, Hanneman, Seteth, Flayn, Yuri, Anna, John, and the Abyssians falling in line behind her. She looks the door up and down, seeing no obvious trap or pull-cord that could cause harm to her or the others. 

“The door is safe, but they’ve got the damn fog trick up again,” Sothis reports, “Annette, can you clear it?” 

“Of course!” Annette announces cheerfully, stepping to Byleth’s side. 

“No time like the present then,” Byleth whispers as she kicks the door in, Annette unleashing a hurricane-like wind through the door and dispersing the fog with little effort. They all rush inside to find the room full of who they assume to be the most elite of TWSITD’s soldiers present. Byleth recognizes Pittacus and Bias standing on either side of Aelfric who stands in front of an altar where a body lay covered under a large cloth. His eyes are closed, though he seems to be shaking with fear a little bit. In front of him, Kronya stands behind the remaining Ashen Wolves, her tail-like blades sitting in front of their necks as they are bound in a kneeling position and their mouths are gagged. Byleth can tell that the damnable woman was probably smug before the fog blew away, but now she had a face of mild shock as Solon, who was standing further behind everyone else, just held his head in embarrassment. On the ground in front of the guards, Odesse has an empty syringe in one hand and a dagger in the other, his masked face just looking between all of those who just entered the room. 

“Well,” Odesse says nervously, “Plan B is a no-go, then. Looks like plan C will have to do.” 

“Odesse,” Kronya calls calmly from the back, “Do you need my help?” 

“So long as you promise to maim and not kill, I have no issue,” Odesse responds, “Otherwise, just keep the Wolves at bay.” He then looks up and notices Seteth glaring at him with Flayn standing behind him, “Second thought, grab the Nabateans. They’re both here.” 

“The what?” Ferdinand asks, drawing a long sigh from the students who had been trapped. 

“We’ll explain later,” Seteth says as he charges a fireball. 

Odesse clears his throat and says, “I mean, we could delay this and discu-” 

“Shut up!” Byleth shouts, “Tonight, you die!” 

Solon just sighs at his subordinates’ missteps and calls out, “This is your grave to dig, Odesse. Don’t expect much help from me.” 

And thus, after shaking his head to refocus himself, Odesse commands the elite soldiers to charge the students, Byleth smirking as she says quietly, “Sothis, let’s fight.” 

“Coming right up,” Sothis says as a lone, menacing sounding guitar began <a href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHnqijwQ55c>playing</a> , bringing the elite soldiers to a crawl as the crest bearers began glowing with a faint green aura, beginning their charge as fast-paced drums are unleashed from the Sword of the Creator. 

Byleth charges directly at Odesse, her sword already unhinging its blade as she swings it across the battle lines, striking down several soldiers as Odesse swiftly ducks under the blade and vanishes in a pillar of fire. Cursing his abilities, Byleth side-steps another soldier’s wayward ax and brings her now collapsed sword to bear, positioning herself between him and Flayn. “Just what do you think you’re doing?” She asks mockingly. 

“Keeping your attention on me,” the soldier replies venomously, swinging his fist at Byleth as she ducks out of its way, only for the soldier to shove his knee at her face. At the last second, she dives away and slashes her sword at his heel, severing the tendon and causing him to collapse in pain. She stands to a knee and shoves her sword behind herself, driving it through the soldier's back and out his chest. She pulls her blade back forward, sending blood flying in an arc at the next group of soldiers as they hesitantly step back. 

Byleth gets a sadistic grin as she asks, “Alright, who’s next?” 

\--------------

“ **No one can see me, and I’ve lost all feeling…”**

Edelgard stood next to Bernadetta as their friends charged ahead, their eyes scanning the battlefield as they picked their targets. “You ready, Bernie?” She asks as she takes her ax in both hands. 

Bernadetta draws an arrow and sends it flying at a soldier, striking his knee as she says, “Did that answer you?” 

Edelgard and Bernadetta charge forward, the former swiftly decapitating the wounded soldier as Bernadetta unleashes an unnatural number of arrows at her foes, no killing but incapacitating them enough so Edelgard could easily deal a killing blow. As they push forward, Dorothea and Casper watch on in mild horror. 

“Holy Goddess,” Casper whispers, “It’s like it’s not even Bernadetta anymore.” 

“I know,” Dorothea replies as she casts a thunderous lightning spell at a soldier who got too close, “This Abyss has changed her and I pray that it’s not for the worse.” 

“Given how in tandem they’re fighting, I’d say it’s for the better,” Casper replies as he punches a soldier in the gut then grabbing his head and driving it into his knee.

“I hope you’re right,” Dorothea sighs as her eyes return to the eagles of war as they laid out their enemies. 

_ Nearby… _

**“And everyone dies…”**

“What in the Goddess’s name is this music?” Hanneman asks as he tends to a wound suffered by Ignatz, “I’ve never heard anything like it.” 

“I wish I couldn’t hear it,” Manuela complains as she stares at the glowing Sword of the Creator in Byleth’s hands, “It’s very distracting and I don’t even know how some of the students can fight with this racket.” 

“I think it has something to do with Sothis,” Hanneman explains as he helps Ignatz to his feet, “She must’ve cast some sort of spell through the sword to affect the crest bearing students. Even the Lance of Ruin and Blutgang have similar auras around them.” 

Manuela looks over at Sylvain as he parries a sword out of a soldier's hands, sending it flying across the room and, somehow, into the hands of Marianne as she drives it into the heart of another soldier. “Do you really think that any amount of training would have allowed them to pull that off?” Hanneman asks after nodding at the display. 

“No, especially not Marianne,” Manuela says, “It’s like they’ve become more in tune with each other, like a choir all reaching a high note together in perfect harmony.” 

Hanneman steps back and says, “And the music is no coincidence either, listen and watch the students.” 

**“You stand for nothing…”**

As the second set of lyrics plays, Manuela notes the sudden lack of the bass drum as the students pull back a moment to catch their breath. Then, the drums all seem to merge into a single sound, and the students charge forward again, dealing death and vengeance to the soldiers before them. 

“See what I mean,” Hanneman says as he holds himself back, “It’s like they aren’t even aware of the music playing, but they still follow the music as it leads them.” 

“Like a dance,” Manuela observes, “I do fear, though, that if they continue like this, they will become predictable in battle. I really do wish they didn’t depend on this.” 

“Professors,” someone calls from their left. They both turn and spot the pair of priests who had been exiled into the Abyss carrying one of the students, Raphael, between them as the pair of former bandits follow them, “He’s alive, but got knocked out.” 

“We’ll deal with him,” Manuela says as they lay Raphael before them, “Just give us cover.” 

“We’ll try,” Brock says as he looks at the battlefield with a worried expression, “But I’m not sure if we are doing much.” 

“We need to hold out for the Knights,” Hanneman says as he kneels, “Just find a way to give us time.” 

\--------------

As the second chorus of the song rang out, Solon stepped out of the shadows near the altar, his gaze shifting between the numerous small fights that had broken out. “Fascinating,” he says, “So this is what Odesse was talking about.” 

“I will say,” Kronya observes as the glowing Ashen Wolves before her struggling with their restraints, “It’s made them all quite formidable.” She eyes watch as Ferdinand and Dimitri become living slaughterhouses, their lances tearing the elite soldiers to shreds. “If I weren’t stuck here, I would very much love to fight them all.” 

Solon looks over to the right and spots a pair of students who he identified as Petra and Felix approaching the altar, “Then your wish is granted. On your right.” 

Kronya, after closing her eyes and allowing a smile to grace her face, subconsciously sends one of her tail blades directly at the approaching students, though it is easily deflected by Felix as he quickly, almost too quickly, gets right up to her. 

Kronya, to her credit, doesn’t visibly panic at his sudden appearance in front of her, though she does start panicking a little on the inside. ‘Ah shit.’ 

Kronya focuses her attention on this young swordsman, drawing her tail blades back to her as she jumps away from his almost blur-like blade as it slashes at her. “You’re fast,” she says seductively, “I like that in a man.” 

“It’s a shame then that we have to kill you,” Felix replies as his glare redoubles, “Or at least distract you.” 

“You forget that there’s four of us up here,” Kronya says as Pittacus and Bias stand beside her, Solon just watching from the side, “Do you really think that you can kill us?” 

“Did you miss what I said about distracting you?” Felix asks with a faint grin. 

Kronya looks behind the swordsman and realizes what he meant since the Ashen Wolves they had captured were missing. She looks around briefly and spots them running with Petra back to the other side of the room where the other professors are waiting for them. “Son of a bitch!” She cries out, “I’ll rip you inside out once I’m done with you!” 

“Good luck,” Felix replies mockingly as he sprints away from the altar. Kronya prepares to give chase, but Solon holds her back with a simple telekinetic spell. 

“Don’t even bother,” Solon orders, “The last thing we need is for you to get yourself killed out there. Besides, your work here is finished.” 

“But what about those Wolves?” Kronya asks while gesturing to the people in question, “They need to be-” 

Solon raises his hand to silence her as he says, “This is Odesse’s plan, remember? Besides, the Ashen Wolves themselves were an ideal bait, as well as the Nabateans across the room.” 

“What?” Kronya tilts her head in confusion, “What do you mean?” 

Solon’s eyes drift back to the battle, and says, “You’ll see once Odesse is in place.” 

\--------------

Yuri ducked under the errant blade of a lance wielder, throwing his sword up and deflecting the lance before quickly driving his elbow into his opponent's face. The soldier staggers back, stumbling slightly before Yuri flips his sword around and drives its blade between the man’s shoulder and collar bones. As he pulls the sword free, he spots his fellow Ashen Wolves running over to the professors and the priests, all four quickly tending to their wounds as the girl who saved them rejoins the fray. Yuri allows a faint smile to grace his face before he backflips, dodging a stray ax that would’ve beheaded him. 

As he lands, he sits on his knee as he glares at his next opponent. The ax wielder cracks his neck as he lifts his weapons, saying, “You’re proving to be a hard man to fight.” 

“Is that not the point of a battle?” Yuri asks in a challenging tone, “Let’s see if you can prove yourself to be just as difficult.” 

The soldier enters a low stance, his barely visible eyes glaring at Yuri before he pauses for a second too long. Before Yuri can react, the soldier says, “No need.” 

Yuri feels a sharp pain in his arm, and he tries to pull away, but whoever stabbed him holds him in place. All too quickly, the person lets go, allowing Yuri to jump away as the soldier he should've faced retreats. Yuri snaps his head back, but only sees a pillar of fire where he once stood, and then he quickly checks his arm only to see a very small wound where he had been stabbed, though the pain proved to be quite immense for such a small hole. 

As Yuri checks his surroundings once more, he notices the opposing soldiers disengaging from their respective fights and retreating as well, taking up a defensive position around the altar. Before any of the students can advance, a massive wall of black fire erupts from the ground, separating the students and TWSITD from each other, Yuri only watching in horror as Odesse stands with a syringe filled with blood in his hand. 

\--------------

Odesse lets out a massive sigh of relief, looking down at the blood-filled syringe in his hands. “I got it,” he says weakly to Solon, “I got the last one.” 

“Will those samples really be enough?” Solon asks curiously. 

“If I’ve learned anything from my projects with the imperial and the Ordellia kids,” Odesse says as he points at Solon, “One crest is easy to implant. Two is when things get complicated.” 

Solon steps forward as he casts a wall of fire spell at the ground between their soldiers and the students and says, “But with the samples we have, will the hosts take it.” 

“I’ve worked with less and got the same results, if not better,” Odesse boasts mildly, “But enough about that. We’ve still got phase two of this little experiment to finish. Pittacus, Bias, let Aelfric know it’s time.” 

\--------------

Byleth became immediately concerned once the soldiers started retreating. She ordered her students not to pursue them and, thankfully, all were spared once the wall of fire sprang to life. She stood at the front, glaring at the masked man looking down at her, like a vulture staring down its unfortunate prey. 

“Craaaap,” Sothis groans as she brings the music to a halt, “They got to Yuri.” 

“They did?” Byleth whispers in disbelief, only just seeing the now filled syringe in Odesse’s hand, “Fuck me.” 

“Well, if you haven't figured it out yet,” Odesse beings in a mocking tone, holding up Yuri’s blood, “We have succeeded.” 

“Goddess damn it,” Dimitri cries out, “What the Hell do you plan on doing?” 

“Well, I’ll tell you what we did do,” Odesse says as the fires intensify, keeping the students at bay and turning a few arrows sent by Bernadetta and Leonie to ash, “We knew you would all make an effort to save your precious Wolves and keep the Nabateans out of our hands, so making you think that they were worth anything to us was key to our goals. Besides, there was never a plan C.” 

“So that fog wasn’t the real distraction?” Annette asks as she backs away. 

Odesse just laughs maniacally and answers, “Well, while it certainly threw all of you off, that fog was nothing like what was employed in those forests. We just wanted to see how you would react. I’m also sure that the poor students who had been trapped here for the last two weeks also missed something obvious about… me.” Odesse raises his hand as it cackles with dark energy, and a pair of dragon-like Black Beast forms on the ground in front of the wall of fire, roaring at the students as they cover their ears and drop to their knees. Byleth, defiant as ever, remains standing as her ears ring in pain, her glare only growing stronger as Odesse lowers his hand. “And that was your first mistake; not realizing that we were holding back.” 

Solon steps forward next with Kronya pouting behind him, “I’ve been watching you, professor,” he says, “You know too much.” He unleashes a bolt of lightning straight at her, Byleth quickly deflecting it with the Sword of the Creator as it burns with power. Once the bolt vanishes, Solon says, “I’ve heard Kronya’s testimony about your encounter with her. She said your eyes spotted her dagger and that tipped you off. How could you, the lowly daughter of a mercenary, know of such a weapon?” 

“That would be me,” Anna counters, stepping next to Byleth, “I happen to have three of those damn things.” 

“Wait, you do?” Seteth asks from across the room, “Why the Hell didn’t you tell us?” 

“Because it would’ve been safer to keep it a secret to myself,” Anna retorts, “Besides, with the way the archbishop has been acting, I had no intent on sharing that information if at all possible.” 

Solon glares at the red-haired girl before he turns his eyes back to Byleth, “You still have secrets yourself that you have not shared. The question that I ask is when?” 

Byleth closes her eyes, asking herself the same question, ‘When will I share my secrets?’ 

“I believe we’ve strayed off topic far enough,” Odesse announces as his black beast back into the wall of fire, remaining unscathed as he continues, “Besides. We have everything to start the Rite!” 

Byleth looks up and spots Aelfric holding the Chalice of Beginnings in his hands, his head bowed reverently at the altar where a body lay covered, Pitticus and Bias standing on either side of him. 

“Aelfric, listen to me,” Yuri calls out, “You don’t need to do this.” 

“This must happen,” Aelfric shouts as he glares at Yuri, his eyes an unnatural, bloody shade of brown. “She must be saved.” 

“Damn it,” Seteth cures, “It’s already too late for him. We need to stop this.” 

“Are you sure?” Balthus asks nervously. 

“Positive,” Flayn answers, “It’s how they can expand their numbers. First, the eyes change color, then their skin color fades away, turning to pale ash.” 

“You know, I always wondered how the two of you evaded us for so long,” Solon asks with a sadistic, vile grin, “Tell me, does she rest well knowing that you’re so close yet so far from vengeance?” 

Seteth starts seething with anger as Flayn seems to be struggling to control herself, her teeth seemingly growing sharper as her eyes change into a more draconic appearance. Thankfully, the only ones to notice are Byleth and Sothis since everyone else’s attention is drawn to the Rite about to take place. 

“Easy there you two,” Sothis says quietly to calm them, “He is just trying to get into your heads and cause you to transform. There is not enough room in here for both of you, and the students don’t need that kind of scare.” 

Seteth calms down easily enough as Flayn clenches her fist and closes her eyes. Once she opens them, they’ve returned to a more human appearance. Solon grunts in disapproval at this and returns his attention to Odesse as he asks, “Are you ready?” 

“As ever,” Odesse grins as he pulls out three unlabeled vials of blood, handing them to Aelfric as he begins a quiet chant. “Once this is complete, the results will be quite astonishing.” 

“Aelfric,” Constance shouts, “Snap out of it this instant!” 

“Please Aelfric,” Hapi calls out, “Please listen to us!” 

However, Aelfric continues his quiet chant uninterrupted, pouring each vile into the chalice as it absorbs the liquid. As he allows Odesse to inject the blood from the syringe into the Chalice, he pulls back the cloth on the altar, revealing a young woman, her lengthy blue hair splayed behind her head. Byleth squinted her eyes, swearing this woman looked awfully familiar; as if looking in a mirror. ‘Who is that?’ 

As Aelfric continues his chant, he places the Chalice on the woman’s chest, the Chalice glowing with a bright green aura. However, Byleth notices the woman’s body also glowing green as the aura creeps up Aelfric’s arm as well. 

“Oh no,” Sothis whispers, “It didn’t work.” 

“How can you tell?” Byleth asks. 

“Only Sitri is supposed to be glowing,” Sothis answers, “Aelfric shouldn’t.” 

“Sitri?” Byleth asks, “That’s her name?” 

“Found out from Yuri,” Sothis explains with a fearful tone, “He also told me… what really happened when the Rite failed. All I can say… is be ready for the fight of your life.” 

\--------------

Odesse takes a cautious step back, pulling Solon and Kronya with him as Pitticus and Bias also step away. 

“Something…” Aelfric’s voice becomes slurred and distorted as if multiple voices were coming from him at once, “Something went wrong.” 

“Of course it did,” Odesse whispers, “All according to plan.” 

Aelfric doesn’t respond as the Chalice’s aura starts turning red, tendrils and grey ooze spilling from the top. It wraps around Sitri and Aelfric simultaneously, merging the two into a single mass. 

“You mad genius,” Solon whispers, genuinely impressed by Odesse’s promised result, “Can it be controlled?” 

“We’ll just have to see,” Odesse replies as he looks over at the students as they start backing away from the beast, “If the remnants of the Crest of Flames we found in her does the trick, their music will work against them in just a matter of moments. Besides,” Odesse looks directly at Byleth, the glass in his mask’s eye sockets clicking as their color changes, revealing a bright green spot hanging around Byleth, “Our spectral friend here won’t even know what hit her.” 

Odesse waives his hand as a spark of mana flies from it, striking the now-forming Umbral Beast as a faint, sickly green aura surrounds it, and the Sword of the Creator also glows with this same aura as a new song starts playing. Odesse allows an unseen grin to grace his face as he says, “Told you we’d be ready.” 

\--------------

[ **“** **Musta-Krakish-Musta-Krakish”** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOuZcW5DPuc)

“Um… Sothis?” Byleth asks, “What's going on?” 

Byleth dares to look at her, only to find that she was staring at the Umbral Beast as it takes its final shape; leathery black and brown wings, its neck ending with a horned, five-eyed skull surrounded by a blood-red mane, red tendrils crossing its massive body. “No…” Sothis whispers, “It’s being affected by the spell.” 

“Meaning?” Byleth asks worriedly as the music suddenly picks up and the Beast unleashes an unholy screech, jumping over the wall of fire and sweeping its large tail across the battlefield, and sweeping anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in its attack. 

“We need to stop that damn thing before it can cause more damage!” Sothis shouts as several students, among them Edelgard, Bernadetta, Lorenz, Ferdinand, Casper, Annette, and Ingrid, struggle to recover from the attack. 

“But the spell-” Byleth tries to protest before diving out of the Umbral Beast next tail sweep. 

Unfortunately, as she recovers, Odesse shouts above the ensuing music, “Lower the wall, Solon. Soldiers, kill them all!” 

Byleth curses loudly as she runs over to Seteth and Flayn, saying, “Help the Knights get here! It’s our only hope!” 

“What about you?” Flayn asks worriedly as she watches the students reengage the soldiers and demonic beasts. 

“Don’t worry about us. We can take them,” Byleth assures the young girl, “I don’t want to fail our original goal and lose you.” 

Flayn opens her mouth to protest before Seteth says, “Flayn. There is no time. We need to get the Knights here now.” Flayn looks away briefly before nodding her head, and the two quickly run out of the room as the Umbral Beast flies at them, only to get stopped by an exploding arrow that brings the door frame down. 

“Hey, skull face!” Claude calls from across the battlefield, “Over here!” 

The Beast quickly charges him, ignoring both TWSITD and the students as it barrels over to its target, taking explosives arrows one after another as if they were nothing. 

Before the Beast can reach him, one of its feet gets tripped by Dimitri as it passes him, causing it to collapse and slide across the room. Now furious, the Beast hisses loudly as it swings its tail at Dimitri, the prince jumping over it and rolling behind its blind spot. 

As the beast tries to turn, it gets hit by another arrow, drawing its attention back to Claude. Claude just grins defiantly at it while saying, “I’m still here, skull face.” 

The Beast rises to its feet and glares down at Claude, a small number of shadow phantoms appearing around it. As Claude draws his dagger, the Beast howls with pain as Dimitri drives his lance into its back. The Beast takes off, trying in vain to shake off the prince as he holds on for dear life. 

As Claude deals with the Phantoms one by one, Byleth sweeps her eyes over the battlefield. All of the crest-bearing student’s auras had vanished, and their sudden drop in performance showed. While they certainly were capable fighters without the Rhythm Spell helping them, the sheer numbers of TWSITD’s soldiers and the Demonic Beasts that still roamed free on the battlefield proved to be their match. Moreover, the students who had been hit by the Umbral Beast's first attack had yet to fully recover, several still knocked out cold as Manuela and Hanneman did what they could to help them. 

Byleth freezes as she hears a quiet laugh behind her, and she swings her Sword around to deflect a tail blade as it retreats to Kronya. “Well, professor,” the woman says with poisonous intent, “I certainly can’t wait to fight you.” 

Byleth just grunts in anger before charging the woman, holding her sword forward to try and drive the blade into her stomach. Kronya sees this and side-steps away from the charge, using her tail blades to throw Byleth off balance and send her tumbling to the ground. Byleth recovers quickly and swiftly deflects two of the blades as Kronya calmly walks back. “You know,” Kronya says with a mock yawn, “For a so-called ‘Ashen Demon’, you really are quite boring. 

“By, don’t listen to her,” Sothis warns, “She’s just-” Byleth yells as she charges at Kronya again, ignoring Sothis’s pleas as her world focused entirely on the damnable woman who had killed her father too many times before. 

“NEVER AGAIN!” Byleth shouts, bringing her sword high as she tries to strike at Kronya. All too late, she realizes her mistake and shifts her position at the last second as Kronya’s cursed dagger sinks into her thigh. 

The blade’s power takes effect immediately, sending wave after wave of pain coursing through her entire body. Byleth shuts her eyes tightly, holding in a scream that would’ve shattered glass. 

“My,” Kronya whispers into Byleth’s ear, “You really are a strong one, holding that back so easily. How does it feel?” 

“Fuck… you…” Byleth forces out with gritted teeth, her strength already fading. 

“Humph,” Kronya just grins as she pulls the blade out, causing Byleth to yelp quietly, just enough to grab Claude’s attention. “Goodbye, professor.” 

Kronya waits two seconds before shoving Byleth away, right into the path of the rampaging Umbral Beast as it flies low, its skeletal head striking Byleth directly and sending her across the room. She hits the wall, several bones audibly breaking before she falls to the ground, tensing one last time before what remained of her strength fades away, the only thing left in her rattled mind being Claude. 

\--------------

Odesse smiles sinisterly, removing his mask so his pale blue eyes can see the result of his experiment clearly. He reveled in the cries of disbelief from the Deer’s house leader, the immediate reaction from the red-haired woman as she quickly tends to the wound Kronya had left, the faltering will of the students as their last hope fails them. Soon, they would be overwhelmed, and soon he would have not one but three ‘holy relics’ to play with and numerous test subjects.

“It’s gone quiet,” Solon observes as he nods at the no longer glowing Sword of the Creator as it sits in the middle of the room. 

“Of course it has,” Odesse says as he nods, “The conduit created between Sitri and Byleth was enough to trigger a reaction from the blade that would work in our favor. Once the blade left her hand, the conduit separated and the spell faltered.” 

When he finishes, Kronya teleports next to him, saying, “If she hadn’t moved at the last second, she would’ve been beyond saving.” She turns to look at Byleth’s unconscious body as Anna cast a series of spells on the wound. “Granted, if not for that merchant, she would've likely died anyway simply because none of them would know how to deal with it.” 

“Yes,” Solon says with a disinterested tone, his gaze still locked on the Sword of the Creator. “Make yourself useful and retrieve our property before we finish here.” 

Kronya looks over at the sword as well and says with a sigh, “As you wish,” and she calmly walks over to the weapon. 

\--------------

Edelgard looked on in disbelief as the Golden Deer that still stood surrounded their downed professor, keeping the soldiers at bay as Anna did everything she could to heal the cursed wound. She looked over the battlefield and saw other just as hopeless situations. Manuela and Hanneman had stopped tending to the wounded, focusing their efforts on fending off the soldiers with the Abyssians and Ashen Wolves. Ferdinand, Casper, Hubert, and Linhardt all stood back to back as the two Demonic Beasts looked down upon them, the four with acceptance of death on their faces. And lastly, right in front of her, Dimitri had finally been thrown off the Umbral Beast, landing on his feet next to her as the Beast stood before them. 

“No,” Edelgard whispers, “We can’t lose like this.” 

“El,” Dimitri says quietly, drawing her attention. He was huffing his breaths, clearly exhausted from exertion as he asked, “What are we going to do?” 

Edelgard looked back at Dimitri, opening her mouth to respond, but remained silent when her eyes spotted something behind him. Her eyes widen, and everything around her seems to crawl to a stop. There were three soldiers between her and her target, and worse, Kronya was approaching it. Luckily, she seemed to be only walking, her usual nonchalant stance making it clear that Edelgard would only have just enough time to make her move. 

As time returned to normal, the only words she heard from anywhere was, “Go for it.” 

Edelgard doesn’t hesitate, her legs moving automatically as she sprints away from the Umbral Beast, Dimitri calling out to her, but his words fall on deaf ears. She swings her ax to her right, chopping off the arm of the first soldier before she pulls it away and she throws it at the second, embedding it into his skull. She draws her dagger, stabbing and ripping it through the throat of the last soldier before her entire attention returns to her target. She sees Kronya kneel to grab it, not noticing the princess as she approaches. Edelgard can hear Odesse call out a warning, Kronya only just looking up as Edelgard’s hand touches the hilt of the Sword of the Creator. 

\--------------

Felix and Sylvain stood next to each other by the door, their weapons held out in front of them as the soldiers shouted obscenities and challenges at the boys. 

“Well Felix,” Sylvain says with a sigh, “I guess this is it. Anything else left to say to me? Maybe a criticism, another insult?” 

Felix looks over at his friend, his eyes showing sincerity for once as he says, “Don’t tell Dimitri this once we get out, but I’ve always valued you as not just as a friend, but as a brother, in arms at least.” 

Sylvain looks back at Felix, chuckling at his comment, and says, “And you the same. Let’s face our destiny.” 

Before they could make their final stand, a sudden, blinding explosion erupts from the middle of the battlefield, throwing several soldiers and Kronya away from its epicenter. As Felix prepares to strike at their distracted adversaries, he feels a strange power coming from Sylvain. He looks over and notices that the Lance of Ruin is now glowing with golden fire, and Sylvain’s focus has become absolute as he enters a lower stance, saying, “Fear me.” 

\--------------

Marianne and Hilda held each other’s hands as their weapons rested in their opposite hands, their backs against a wall as several soldiers looked at them with licentious thoughts in their eyes. 

“Well,” Hilda whispers while looking at her girlfriend, “We may not get out of this after all.” 

“I know,” Marianne replies, looking at Hilda with a peaceful smile, “I… just want you to know that you were the best thing to ever happen to my life.” 

“Mari…” Hilda’s hand tightens against Marianne’s as she pulls her closer, burying her head into her shoulder as she whimpers softly. “Thank you.” 

As the two women prepare to accept their fate, the soldiers raising their weapons, an explosion erupts behind them, knocking a few onto their faces as those who remained standing look back in shock and horror. Hilda risked looking up from Marianne’s shoulder and noticed Blutgang’s blade suddenly on fire, with Marianne’s voice becoming serious as she said, “It’s not over.” 

\--------------

Odesse shielded his eyes once the explosion happened, Kronya groaning in pain when she landed at his feet. 

“Odesse,” Solon says with an alarmingly furious tone, “Look.” 

Odesse looks up and is shocked by what he sees. The princess, his crowning achievement, the traitor who turned against their cause, the one who wanted his head more than anyone else's, slowly stood to her feet, the black cloth the shrouded her body burning away to reveal the plate armor underneath and the Sword of the Creator burning with fire in her hand as she glared at the trio by the altar. As she stood, a [new song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sckbQQScgDY) had begun playing, this time the aura surrounding only two others, the ones who also bore the Holy Relics. The soldiers backed away fearfully, and the Demonic Beasts ignored their prey as the bright lights caught their attention. And worse, Odesse can hear shouting from beyond the collapsed door, meaning what remained of their ordinary soldiers was no more. 

“S-Stand your ground!” Odesse declares, chills running up his spine as the first lyric rebounds around the room. 

**“From the ashes, you will rise!”**

\--------------

Edelgard felt the power of the Sword coursing through her body as both of her crests ignite. She tested the weight of the sword, adjusting her grip until the balance felt right. “You’ve hurt my friends,” she whispers venomously at the trio by the altar as the soldiers and Beasts get between them and her, “You’ve taken everything that I cared about, threatened my people, and tried to turn me into your puppet.” She takes a step forward, her glare intensifying as Marianne and Sylvain step next to her, their Relics also burning with power. 

“This doesn’t change anything,” Odesse calls out with a mocking tone, “Once they learn of what you’ve done, they will turn against you.” 

“What makes you think we don’t already know?” Dimitri asks as he and the few remaining uninjured students join the newly formed line, “Would we have even attacked you if she hasn’t already told us the truth?” 

“What she has done is despicable,” Dedue adds from the back of the room near his wounded classmates, “Perhaps downright evil, but after learning of what you did to her and the Hell that you put her through, we are at least willing to forgive her.” 

“Um… yeah,” Ferdinand says before quietly asking Hubert, “What happened to her?” 

Hubert harshly whispers, “Now is not the time, just follow along,” before returning his attention to TWSITD.

“Whatever you say,” Solon shakes his head and steps forward, giving a single command, “Bring me her head.” 

And thus, as the song begins in earnest, TWSITD’s forces, the Demonic beasts, and the Umbral Beast all charge the students, Edelgard only closing her eyes as she says, “The relics won’t do much to the Demonic Beasts, even like this. Leave them to me.” She sprints directly at the first beast, her dagger brought to bear as her classmates charge the remaining forces. 

The Demonic Beast flaps its wings and jumps off the ground, its jaws opening as it attempts to catch Edelgard. However, she quickly ducks under its strike stabs her dagger into the Beast's heart, dragging the blade down its chest and ripping it clean through its stomach, black blood spilling from the wound as the beast crashes into the ground, its form already dissolving as the other beast charges her on foot. 

Before it can reach her, Ferdinand’s lance flies over Edelgard’s head like a javelin and sticks between the beast's eyes, somehow killing it instantly as it slides to rest in front of Edelgard. As the beast fades away, Ferdinand picks up his lance, revealing a silver-lined edge on the blade as the black ooze drips off. 

“You know,” Ferdinand says as he rolls his shoulder, “It’s amazing just what’s hidden in the restricted section of the library here.” 

“Is that why you have a silver lance then?” Edelgard asks as she looks at a few advancing soldiers. 

“Yeah,” he replies before eyeing the Sword of the Creator wearily, “Are you… aware of what could happen if you hold onto that thing for too long?” 

“I’m aware of what happened in the Margravate, yes,” Edelgard sheaths her dagger as she takes the sword with both of her hands, “But I’m not worried.” 

“Are you sure?” Ferdinand asks as he steps back, aware of what Edelgard was about to do, “You only have the Crest of Seiros.” 

Edelgard swings the sword, its blade unhinging into its whip-like form as the tip slashes through the soldiers. She quickly shifts the direction of the blade, the tip snapping loudly as it swings back and decapitates another line of soldiers before restacking back into a sword once more, nearly throwing Edelgard off balance. She looks down at the Sword in shock as she asks, “How the Hell does Byleth use this?” 

“I-it’s your two crests,” Sothis answers, her voice somewhat strained and sorrowful, “They’re in conflict and you, therefore, can’t use the Sword to its full effect. If you just had the Crest of Flames, it wouldn’t be an issue.” 

Ferdinand shakes his head and asks, “Wait… two crests?” 

Edelgard just sighs and says, “Talk to Hubert once we’re through here,” before running off to the Umbral Beast.

\--------------

**“Halo of fire falls from the sky…”**

Marianne holds Blutgang calmly in front of her, her eyes showing no emotion as she squares off against the largest among TWSITD’s soldiers. 

“Well, little miss,” the beastly man says as he swings his hammer to his shoulder, “If you surrender now, I’ll treat you nicely.” 

“No,” Marianne answers bluntly as she turns her body to the side, her sword still pointed at the man, “You won't have a chance to surrender.” 

“*Sigh* ah well,” the solder drops low as he speaks, “And here I thought I could get a new wife out of this.” Now ravenous with fury, Marianne closes her eyes and breathes deeply, waiting patiently as the man’s thunderous footfalls charge at her. At the last second, almost like lightning, she parries the man’s hammer and flips Blutgang’s blade as it slides up the hammer’s pole, cleanly decapitating the soldier as his head flies back at his allies. 

The soldiers take a step back as Marianne’s eyes open, and she simply asks, “Who’s next?” 

Before they can answer, Hilda walks next to Marianne and adds, “And, before any of you get any fancy ideas, I’ve already taken her.” 

The soldiers wisely decide to run the other way, allowing the couple to share a brief smile before their attention is drawn to the Umbral Beast. 

\--------------

Sylvain ripped the Lance of Ruin from the chests of two soldiers he had impaled, letting them fall to the ground as he, Felix, and Dimitri stood back to back. All three had allowed their crests to ignite, the soldier’s bodies piling up around them. 

“Hey Dimitri,” Sylvain calls out, “How do I have a bigger body count than you?” 

“Let’s just say I’ve learned how to control myself,” Dimitri answers as his lance deflects a sword before he kicks the attacking soldier away with such force that he flies across the room, “Mostly.” 

Felix slashes his sword up, cutting diagonally across another soldier’s chest before saying, “I couldn’t help but notice that you don’t seem to be as sleep-deprived as before. Have you really patched things between yourself and the princess?” 

Dimitri signs for a moment before relaxing as the soldiers retreat, leaving only the Umbral Beast ahead. “I’m not sure how things will turn out once we escape,” Dimitri admits, “But I can safely say this last week with her has been both eye-opening and much needed for both of us.” 

“That’s good to hear,” Sylvain replies as he sizes up the Umbral Beast, “What do you say we take care of that thing.” 

\--------------

Edelgard looked up at the skeletal head of the Umbral Beast as it stared down at her, its veins pulsing with fury as it raised itself to full height. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a little scared of this Beast, but there was no denying it had proven to be beyond anything they have faced thus far. It swept her and several of her other classmates with its first strike alone, and it took Byleth out of action while Dimitri had his lance jammed right into it. As her classmates line up alongside her again, she starts forming a plan. 

“The skull,” she says, nodding at the Beasts Head, “Breaking it might be key to killing it for good.” 

“I tried wailing on that thing when I was on it,” says Dimitri, “Even with my crest at full power, I couldn’t even leave a dent.” 

“Maybe just stab the eyes, like the Black Beasts?” Sylvain theorizes as Ferdinand and Felix nod in agreement. 

“He’s right,” says Hilda, “It’s the only part of its head that is exposed.” 

Edelgard squints her eyes as she focuses on the Beast's eyes sockets and says, “Maybe. It’s worth testing, but I still feel that breaking the skull will do the trick better.” 

“We’d best move, then,” Hubert says as the Beast swipes its tail at the gathered students, dispersing but not actually hitting any of them. Edelgard, Marianne, and Sylvain sprint forward, going under the Beasts as Hilda and Hubert flank left while Dimitri, Felix, and Ferdinand go right. 

Hubert fires first, a ball of pure energy flying at the beast's head, doing little damage but drawing its attention to him and Hilda. It lunges directly at the pair, though Hilda is able to shove Hubert away as she jumps onto the Beast’s head, hacking away at its skull with her ax. 

Hilda grits her teeth as her ax only leaves barely a scratch as she shouts between each strike, “Die… you… mother… fu- ah!” Suddenly the beast whips its head and flings Hilda off, the girl only just barely landing safely on her feet near Hubert as he prepares another spell in his hands. Before the Beast turns back to face them, it howls in pain as Felix slashes at the veins surrounding its body, allowing Ferdinand and Dimitri to shove their lances into its seemingly vacant eyes. Again, the Beast’s howls grow louder, shaking its head violently as the lance-men fallback. 

The Beast reaches its claws up and snaps the lances out of its eyes, the broken poles flying across the room. 

“Well that didn’t work,” Felix says with a sigh as he comes to rest next to Dimitri, “It only pissed it off.” 

“Yeah,” Dimitri nods in agreement as he draws his dagger, “But we can’t stop yet.” 

“Wait,” Ferdinand holds the prince’s arm still as he says, ‘Behind it.” 

Dimitri looks between the Beast's legs, spotting Sylvain as he runs up the Beast's tail. A split second later, he appears airborne over the Beast's head as he slashes the Lance of Ruin with all of his might, the blade striking true against the skull and causing a deep crack to form across its length. The Beast stumbles back, swiping its claws aimlessly as Sylvain drops next to Dimitri, his usual carefree grin on his face as he shouts, “You’re up, Marianne!” 

On cue, Marianne swings Blutgang at the Beast's hind legs, severing them completely as the Beast falls to the ground, on just catching itself on its forelimbs as the bladed whip of the Sword of the Creator strikes the crack made by Sylvain, cleaving right though. 

The Umbral Beast remains still only for a moment before the two halves of the beast split open, revealing Edelgard as the Sword returns to its singular bladed form. The students cautiously step forward, the beast’s body liquifying as it returns to the Chalice of Beginnings, leaving behind Sitri and an unconscious Aelfric. 

Before they can reach them, a sudden wall of fire encircles the pair, forcing the students back as the heat nearly burns them. Edelgard can just see past the flames, spotting the outlines of Solon and Odesse as they walk over to Sitri and Aelfric. Odesse looks over at the princess, his glare hidden behind his mask as he kneels next to Aelfric and teleports away with him. Solon also kneels next to Sitri and the Chalice, his eyes closed as he whispers harshly, “This isn’t over.” 

Once Solon is gone, the remnants of TWSITD’s forces also teleport away, leaving only the monastery residents in the room. Edelgard shakes her head, a sudden onset of nausea and delirium throwing her off balance. She can’t hear the people around her calling out, nor can she hear the sudden explosion at the doorway as the Knights finally pour into the room. She stumbles a step, dropping the now extinguished Sword of the Creator from her hand as she falls. Thankfully, someone manages to catch her before she hits the ground, the voice calling her name as her world goes dark. 


	33. Easier to Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “It's easier to run  
> Replacing this pain with something numb  
> It's so much easier to go  
> Than face all this pain here all alone.”- Linkin Park

All Byleth could feel was pain. It reverberated throughout her body for what felt like hours, emanating from the place where the dagger had stabbed her. As much as she wanted to hold the wound, even move it in the hopes of dulling the pain, she couldn’t. She didn’t know for how long she was unconscious, but now the only thing on her mind was her students. She fought with herself, forcing her only unbound arm to try and move even an inch. With all her willpower, her eyes finally snap open, her arm springing up. However, someone manages to catch her arm and pin it to the bed she was now laying in, a voice calling from nearby, “By, it’s alright.” 

Byleth’s eyes scan the room she found herself in, spotting a large window to her left with a desk sitting in front of it, multiple emptied bandage rolls, scissors, and scalpels sitting on it. She tries to move her head right, but a brace holds her neck in place. Byleth shifts her eyes and sees Manuela holding her arm down, a reassuring smile on her face as her focus returns. Byleth blinks once and tries to speak, “Wha- *cough*” but she noticed her throat was parched. Manuela turns away and fills a small glass with some water which Byleth drinks greedily once it’s brought to her lips. 

As Byleth catches her breath, she asks, “What happened?” 

Manuela puts the glass down and asks in return, “Well, what do you remember?” 

Byleth closes her eyes as she concentrates, “I remember… falling. No, I got hit by…” her eyes grow wide as the events play in her mind. She tries to force her way out of the bed, but Manuela holds her down, and the injuries she had sustained make themselves known to her. Byleth groans in pain as the left side of her body and both her legs protest. 

“You do remember the battle, and that’s good,” says Manuela once Byleth has calmed down, “All that tells me is that your memory is fine.” 

Byleth groans as she pushes her blanket down, revealing her left arm pinned against her stomach under layers of bandages that wrapped around her entire abdomen and reaching up to her shoulder. She brings her hand up to her head and finds that her head also had a few bandages wrapped around it. “How… how long was I out?”

“About three days,” Manuela answers. 

Byleth shakes her head lightly in the brace and then asks, “And how bad is it?” 

Manuela hums lightly and asks, “Do you want a Lindhart explanation, a Hanneman, or mine?” 

Byleth looks back at the woman and says, “Linhardt’s too detailed, Hanneman’s too blunt… I guess you.” 

Manuela nods as she starts explaining, “To start,” she lifts her blanket from the bottom, revealing Byleth’s legs, only her right leg splinted and lightly bandaged, “Your right leg suffered multiple hairline fractures across most of the bones, and your kneecap was dislocated. I’ll explain your left last since it will get a little complicated. Moving up, your hip bone was bruised, but thankfully not broken. Now, your left arm, and the entire left side of your body for that matter, was the most seriously injured. Multiple broken ribs, hyperextension and dislocation of both the wrist and elbow, full dislocation of the shoulder, collar bone is broken, shoulder blade fractured, humerus shattered. All told, I was amazed that Linhardt said your forearm only had minor fracturing. As for your head, the brace was more to stabilize you as you were brought back up to the monastery. The entire right side of your body took the force of the Umbral Beast when it hit you and you are incredibly lucky to have not suffered any server neck, spinal, and internal organ injuries, though they are present.” 

Byleth looks forward, amazed by just how seriously she had been hurt. Never before had she suffered so many injuries in a single battle, let alone attack. How she was even alive was beyond her. Byleth looks back at Manuela and asks, “What about my left leg?” 

Manuela’s expression turns dark as she explains, “I had never seen a wound like it before. Where that woman had stabbed you… it didn’t look natural. The wound itself was black, like the blade didn’t just puncture the skin, but actually killed the area around it. I saw dark veins spreading from the wound and it just crawled across your skin. It almost acted like poison. If Anna hadn’t gotten to you as quickly as she did, you wouldn't be here with us.” 

Byleth’s eyes turned to her other leg as Manuela pulled the blanket back, revealing a bandage wrapped only around her thigh. “Anna showed me the scar she had from a similar injury,” Manuela adds, “I’m almost certain yours will be the same, perhaps worse since Anna described hers as only being a scratch.” 

Byleth sighs deeply at this, closing her eyes as she allows herself to relax her head. “How long will I take to recover?” she asks. 

Manuela chuckles lightly and says, “You have nothing to worry about. Between Hanneman and I, as well as our students, at most, it should only take you two months, maybe three to fully recover. Because your injuries are so extensive, setting everything properly will be quite a challenge for all of us, but nothing we can’t handle.” 

“Three months,” Byleth repeats quietly, “How long would it normally take without your help?” 

“No less than a year along with permanent disfigurement,” Manuela answers with a sigh, “We should be able to get you moving again by the end of next week though, so you’ll be staying in here until then.” 

Byleth looks at the window as Manuela replaces the blanket. Her mind drifts between her students as she asks, “What of our students?” 

Manuela stands up and walks over to the door, picking up a plate of food, roasted chicken with mixed vegetables, from a small end table as she says, “Most of them suffered only minor injuries, bruising, and minor lacerations. Only Petra and Dedue walked out unscathed. There… were four that needed to be helped out.” 

“Who?” 

“First is Raphael,” Manuela explains as she helps Byleth slowly sit up, “He was knocked out pretty good and wouldn’t wake up until we all started moving back up. He complained of a mild headache and neck pain, so he has a neck brace like you for right now. Next is Bernadetta. She had broken her wrist when she got hit by that Beast and sprained her ankle when she landed. I will say, she took it surprisingly well and wasn’t overly concerned, though she was sniffling quite bad and had tears running like rivers down her face. She was more worried about everyone else. However, she got so red when Hubert was carrying her, I thought she was about to burst a blood vessel.” 

“Sounds about right,” Byleth says as she picks at her food, “She and Hubert may have gotten close with each other while we were down there, but I don’t think the embarrassment will ever go away for them.” 

“Indeed,” Manuela agrees before continuing, “Next is Leonie. I’ll give you three guesses as to what happened.” 

Byleth rolls her eyes and says sarcastically, “Well, I assume you did warn her.” 

“Mmm-hmm,” Manuela nods, “Back on crutches for another three weeks at least.” 

“And who was the last one?”

Byleth brings a piece of chicken to her mouth but stops when Manuela says the one name she didn’t want to hear, “Edelgard.” 

“What?” Byleth looks over at Manuela as she lowers her hand. 

Manuela sighs as she explains, “When you got knocked out, the Sword of the Creator got separated from you. The woman who had attacked you tried to retrieve it, but Edelgard got to it first. You should’ve seen the explosion that happened. It sent a lot of TWSITD’s soldiers across the room, and Edelgard was completely fine even as fire burned away the cloth that surrounded her armor. Hell, even the sword itself and the other relics had caught fire, but Sylvain and Marianne had to get their arms treated for burns afterward while Edelgard got away without any. All the students just looked on in shock, most of them whispering in disbelief and worry since they saw what happened in the Margravate. The transformation you all talked about never happened, and TWSITD was successfully pushed out of the Abyss. Unfortunately, they got away with Aelfric, that woman he was trying to revive, and the Chalice before they could be stopped, and once they were gone, Edelgard just collapsed.” 

“Where is she now?” Byleth asks worriedly, Manuela having to hold her down once again. 

“She’s in her room,” Manuela answers calmly, drawing a sigh of relief from Byleth, “Although she does have a pair of armed guards at her door, we convinced Rhea to at least allow her that comfort for when she awakens.” 

Byleth sighs deeply, thankful that Edelgard was still here and alive, “So she’s effectively under house arrest?” 

“That’s what your father is classifying it as, yes,” Manuela answers before standing and walking to the door, “Which reminds me, I need to go grab him. I promised I’d get him once you were awake.” As she opens the door, she hums in surprise and calls back, “Also, you have visitors.” 

Byleth looks over and sees her students, all the Golden Deer, peaking around the door frame as Claude asks, “May we come in?” 

Byleth’s smile couldn’t be any broader as she says, “Please do.” 

One by one, her students walk in, all scattering throughout the room to give her space. “We would come closer,” Claude says as he scratched his neck, “But I think your father wants to hug you first.” 

“And you wouldn’t dare take that from him,” Byleth replies playfully, drawing a chuckle from the boy as she looks over her students. Claude had his wrist bandaged tightly, an obvious sprain. Lysithea and Cyril stood next to each other, the only ones free of any bandage though both had hidden bruises. Marianne and Hilda held each other’s hands, a thick bandage wrapped wound Marianne’s sword arm while Hilda had one on her lower leg. Lorenz had a small bandage on his forehead, Ignatz had two of his fingers bound together, and Raphael had a neck brace. And Leonie, a scowl of embarrassment on full display, once again had her leg bound and splinted with crutches under her arms. 

“So what happened this time?” Byleth asks while looking at her. 

Leonie takes a deep breath and mutters, “Fucker got a lucky shot.” 

“Man with a hammer hit her,” Lysithea answers as she shakes her head, “She wasn’t paying attention and he got too close.” 

“Could’ve fought him too,” Leonie mutters before shaking her head and saying, “Although, Manuela told us you were in rough shape as well. Think you’ll be alright?” 

Byleth just smiles at her student’s concern and says, “I’d rather be the one stuck in a bed for weeks on end than to have any of you in the same place.” 

“We really mean that much to you?” Lorenz asks with an appreciative smile. 

“Of course we do,” Claude answers, “We may be the least disciplined House in this academy, but we have the most fun. Tell me I’m wrong.” 

“Well, we certainly stretch the definition of fun,” Lorenz replies, “But you’re definitely not wrong.” 

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Byleth adds as they all hear someone running in the hallway. Everyone backs away from the door as Jeralt barges in, his eyes spotting his daughter immediately as he tries to run over to her before Manuela holds him back. 

“Easy, Captain,” Manuela scolds Jeralt as she holds him in place, “She is still very much in pain and shouldn’t be moved too much; otherwise, she might suffer more injuries.” 

Jeralt sighs in defeat as Manuela lets him go, calmly walking to his daughter’s side as he asks, “How’re you feeling, kid?” 

“Like shit,” Byleth answers bluntly, drawing a hearty chuckle from her father as he carefully embraces her, his laughter turning to quiet cries. 

“Thank the Goddess you’re alive,” he whispers, several of the students and Manuela moved to tears as they watch. 

“You know,” Leonie muses once Jeralt pulls away and wipes his tears, “I wonder just what exactly happened down there. I mean, Claude already told us, but I want to hear it from you, professor.” 

Byleth sighs heavily and says, “I hope you have nothing planned because it’s going to be a long story.” 

\--------------

_ A few hours later…  _

_ El... _

_ Wake up El…. _

_ Wake up…. _

__ Edelgard’s eyes slowly fluttered open, her vision blurry as she blinked the spots out of her eyes. She groans tiredly as she moves her head, her muscles weak and stiff as her body starts aching. As her vision refocuses, she finds herself in her room, everything neatly made, though a number of her belongings were in the wrong place. ‘To be expected,’ she tells herself, ‘They were going to search the room anyway once they realized I went… wait. Why am I in my room?’ 

Edelgard tries to pick herself up, but her arms fail her as she falls back into the bed. Her movements, however, must’ve disturbed someone since she heard from the foot of her bed, “Stooooop… It’s too early…” 

Edelgard looks down, spotting Sothis resting her head at the bottom of her mattress. Edelgard opens her mouth to speak, but her dry throat makes her cough quietly. This is enough to wake up the sleeping Goddess. She rubs her eyes and blinks as she looks at Edelgard, her eyes squinting as she asks, “Edie? Are you awake?” 

Again, Edelgard tries to speak, but again she only coughs dryly as a result. Sothis quickly stands and leaves the room, phasing through the door briefly before reentering. “Someone’s coming to help.” 

However, Edelgard gets very nervous when her door opens and Catherine enters, Shamir only just visible beyond the door frame. ‘Crap,’ she groans inwardly, ‘If they’re there, they don’t want me going anywhere.’ She had expected this, of course, but she still dreaded the thought. 

Catherine kneels next to Edelgard, grabbing a half-full glass of water and bringing it to the princess’s lips. Edelgard drinks slowly, the cool liquid bringing immediate relief to her throat. She takes a deep breath as she whispers, “Thank you.” 

“Don’t mention it,” Catherine replies as she pulls a nearby chair over to the bed and sits down, “I can only assume you want to know what happened?” 

“I remember the battle,” Edelgard answers, the details still vivid on her mind, “But… how long have I been out?” 

“Three days,” Catherine answers, “Hanneman and Manuela checked on you hourly to ensure that you were still taking fluids and what little food they could give you.” 

At the mention of food, Edelgard’s stomach growled loudly, causing her to wince at the noise. “Um… is there any…?” 

“Not here, no,” Catherine answers, “But I can have someone bring something in a little bit.” 

“Please,” Edelgard replies with a nod. 

Catherine turns to the door and asks the spectral Goddess, “Mind helping out?” 

“Of course,” Sothis replies before darting out of the room, leaving Edelgard to shake her head lightly at what had happened. 

“Wait, since when did you know about Sothis?” she asks the knight. 

“Right before your final battle against TWSITD,” Catherine answers, “Jeralt gathered the crest bearers together to introduce us… well, Hanneman, Seteth, and I to her and make our final plan of attack. Once we got out, she said that she wanted to remain with you until you woke up.” 

“And… Byleth?” Edelgard asks worriedly. 

“Alive and awake,” Catherine answers with a nod, “Cyril only just told us a few minutes before you awoke.” 

Edelgard sighs with relief as she says, “Thank the Goddess.” Edelgard closes her eyes for a moment before asking a very important question, “Does Rhea know about Sothis yet?” 

Catherine shifts uncomfortably in her chair and says, “Not yet, but we all believe that Rhea suspects what is really going on. Sothis made us all swear not to say a thing until you and Rhea had a chance to talk.” 

“That’s the plan,” Edelgard replies as she moves her hands and feet, mostly to make sure they still worked. “I… can only assume that Sothis….” 

“Shared everything that had happened down there as well as the truth about you,” Catherine crosses her arms and closes her eyes, bowing her head as she speaks, “No. Dimitri and Claude did, as well as Flayn and the other students who were trapped down there. They talked so much trying to defend you, that Sothis couldn’t even get a word in.” 

“They… defended me?” Edelgard asks in disbelief. “Why would they defend me?” 

“Dimitri started first,” Catherine explained, “When we got back and Rhea confronted us, he stood up to her. He made it abundantly clear that you were to be treated like any other student regardless of what you had done. The look on Rhea’s face was terrifying. Had Jeritza not held her arm, I’m certain she would’ve smacked Dimitri for being so insolent with her. Next was Claude, but he was far more upset than Dimitri.” She pauses as a sudden thought came to mind. “If you don’t mind me asking, did anything happen between Claude and Byleth down there?” 

“If I’m honest,” Edelgard begins with a sigh, “I definitely think they’re an item now.” 

“Figures,” Catherine replies as she rolls her eyes, “I only asked because he never left Byleth’s side even once when they got back up here. I even found him sleeping by the door to where Byleth is recovering.” 

Edelgard just nods as she slowly moves her arms up and over the sheets, noting that she was lacking her armor and was now just in her ruined uniform. Catherine watches her and asks, “I… am not going to ask what happened simply because I know you will tell all of us eventually, but… when you were being evaluated once we got back, Manuela had to step out because of what she had found on you. Can I see it?” 

Edelgard just nods as she closes her eyes, rolling her sleeve as the scars on her arms were exposed, Catherine drawing a sharp breath through her nose. Edelgard holds her sleeve for a few seconds before rolling it down, Catherine whispering, “Holy Hell.” 

“I can only assume you also know of my other… issue?” Edelgard asks without looking at the woman. 

“Hanneman confirmed it,” Catherine answers, “When you used the Sword as effectively as you did, all without turning into a Black Beast, he made it necessary to perform an immediate crest evaluation on you. Needless to say, even Rhea was shocked beyond words.” 

Edelgard just sighs quietly, saying, “Lysithea has two as well.” 

“We know,” Catherine replies as she stands up, “She came forward with it and also submitted an evaluation once word started spreading about yours.” 

“And?” 

“All I can safely say is that Rhea is standing by her promise and will hear you out when you’re ready,” Catherine answers as she walks over to the door, “Do you think you need any more help?” 

Edelgard looks over at the glass and pitcher and carefully sits herself up and reaches out, grabbing them both with little issue while pouring herself some water. She sips the water before answering, “I should be fine. Thank you.” 

Catherine nods solemnly before exiting the room. 

\--------------

Catherine closed the door behind her, shutting her eyes and resting her head against it as she whispers, “Why can’t anything go according to plan just once in my life.” 

“Um… Cath,” Shamir says next to her. Catherine looks over at her, only for her eyes to grow wide once she sees almost every academy student standing next to them, Dimitri and Claude standing in front as Catherine can audibly hear Sothis sigh from nearby. 

“I went to get one,” the invisible Goddess says, “But then they all started coming.” 

“Is she finally awake?” Hubert asks from the middle of the crowd, many of the students asking the same thing all at once. 

Catherine just raises her hand to silence them as she answers, “Yes, but she only just woke up and, as per the captain's orders, will not be taking any visitors besides Hanneman and Manuela so they can perform another check-up with her. Unless you’ve brought something for her to eat, I can not allow anyone to enter.” 

The students let out sighs of relief once they learn that Edelgard is awake, only to groan in disappointment when they’re told they can’t enter. Most of the students walk away, muttering to each other about what will happen while a select few, specifically Bernadetta, Dimitri, Hubert, and Dorothea, stay. 

“Did any of you bring something?” Catherine asks the four. 

“Indeed,” Dorothea answers, pulling a small bag from behind her back, “I figured I’d get her something light since she was asleep for so long.” 

As she hands over the bag, Dimitri steps forward with another bag, saying, “Tell her to save this one last. It would otherwise ruin her appetite.” 

After that, Hubert steps forward with Bernadetta, who was on a single crutch while her left arm was splinted and sitting in a sling, and says, “If the princess asks, Bernadetta made the choices. I’m only helping her until she recovers.” 

“And I’d very much appreciate it,” Bernadetta adds as Catherine collects the last bag. 

“Thank you,” Catherine says, “I think Edelgard will definitely like this.” 

“Of course,” Dorothea replies before she and the other students walk away, leaving Catherine to inspect the food given as Shamir takes a peak. 

“Let’s see,” Catherine says as she inspects Dorothea’s bag first, “Some fruit and a few pieces of bread. That’s good.” She hands the bag to Shamir as she looks in Bernadetta’s bag. “Fish cakes. I really hope it’s her own recipe and not Flayn’s.” 

“She wouldn’t do that to the princess,” Shamir says, “Not after surviving down there with her.” 

“*Sniff* They smell good at least. Must be freshly made,” Catherine replies with a shrug, handing the bag to Shamir before inspecting the final bag, “And last… hm. Dimitri’s right, this would ruin her appetite.” She holds the bag for Shamir to see, finding numerous tea cakes and pastries as well as a small folded note inside. “If I had to guess, I think Dimitri still fancies her.” 

“The great Catherine, wielder of Thunderbrand, gossiping about a possible royal relationship,” Shamir says sarcastically while shaking her head, “What has this last month done to us?” 

“I don’t know,” Catherine answers with a shrug as she takes the bags back, “I’ll give these to her.” 

“I’ll be waiting,” Shamir replies as Catherine enters Edelgard’s room. 

\--------------

Rhea watched out of her window at the students as they filed out of the dormitory while Manuela and Hanneman entered it. She had watched the students when they initially entered, and she could only assume that the princess had finally woken up. Although she knew that confronting her was only a matter of time now, she couldn’t help but feel as if she was the one backed into a corner. She certainly felt relief once the students and knights had returned safe and sound, but she hadn’t expected so many, let alone price Dimitri himself to suddenly turn against her. What could they have possibly learned down there? Did they know the truth? Did Edelgard brainwash them? 

“Lady Rhea,” she hears from her door. She calmly turns to find Jeritza, the only one either brave or stupid enough to still visit her daily, standing at the far end of the room. He starts walking to her as he says, “Several of the students have confirmed that Princess Edelgard is awake, though it might be some time before you can visit her.” 

Rhea doesn’t answer immediately. Personally, she would’ve preferred that Edelgard was reported dead so she wouldn’t have to face her, but that would only make her the villain in the student’s eyes. Rhea closes her eyes and bows her head as she asks, “How soon will it be?” 

“Manuela and Hanneman are going to check on her as we speak,” Jeritza answers once he stops in front of her, “They will let us know.” 

“I see,” Rhea whispers. She looks up at Jeritza, taking in his almost emotionless eyes and neutral face. She can only say almost because she could tell that there was some level of empathy in his eyes. Did he feel sorry for her? Maybe, but Rhea couldn’t focus on that for too long, not while the princess was awake and waiting on her. 

“If I may ask,” Jeritza says, snapping Rhea’s attention back into focus, “What do you expect from your meeting with Princess Edelgard?” 

Rhea sighs tiredly and answers, “Nothing good. That much I’m certain of.” 

“And why would that be?” 

Rhea brushes past Jeritza as she speaks, pacing her room in the same pattern every time she talks with him, “The princess still has something to hide, that’s without a doubt. Based on the student’s testimonies, it’s obvious that the princess and TWSITD worked together at some point, but she had a change of heart and turned against them while still maintaining animosity against the Church. What I want to know is what did she do to get the missing students, let alone prince Dimitri, who is essentially her biggest political rival, to side with her? I can understand Claude being upset given that professor Byleth was damn near killed down there, but even he sided with Edelgard.” 

Rhea pauses, looking away from Jeritza as she asks herself, ‘Why did I say her name?’ 

She looks back at Jeritza, finding him with his eyes closed as he says, “I think this is one of the few times you’ve acknowledged her by name.” Rhea clenches her fist for a moment before relaxing herself, crossing her arms as she turns away from the man. She can hear Jeritza approach her as he speaks, “I believe that you are the only one who’s demonized her while everyone else was concerned for her safety, thereby turning everyone against you while they all sided with her. Whether what princess Edelgard did is right or wrong doesn’t matter to them because they know that what you did, what you’ve been doing this past month, is without a doubt wrong.” 

“What am I supposed to do then?” Rhea asks. 

She feels Jeritza grab her shoulder and turn her to face him, his eyes actually showing seriousness for once as he speaks, “Listen to her. For years, her words, her pleas have fallen on deaf ears. If you listen to her just once, you’ll understand.” 

Rhea just stares into his eyes, partially shocked that his words actually carried some weight to them. Somehow she felt drawn to him in a way, but she couldn’t let herself fall into that trap again, not now. She sighs quietly as she says, “If anything, I want to know how the Hell she and Lysithea have two crests each. It shouldn’t even be possible.” 

“Edelgard will answer that,” Jeritza replies as he walks to the door, “All you need to do is listen.” Rhea returns to her window once the door closes, watching over the courtyard of the monastery she built centuries ago. 

“When I listen...,” she whispers as she spots Manuela and Hanneman walking away from the dormitories, both having a very heated discussion. She looks directly at the dormitory itself as she asks herself, “Will I?”

\--------------

Dimitri rested his head against the dining table in the mess hall, his food left untouched as he stared at it while his classmates gathered around him, most of them also not touching their food either. 

“You know,” Sylvain says with a sigh as he scratches at his bandaged right arm, “I don’t think anyone’s looking forward to tonight.” He scans the room, spotting the other Houses’ students also not eating their food as they quietly discuss what was about to happen. 

“If it were any other student, it wouldn’t be an issue,” Ingrid replies, “But it’s the princess. Depending on what Rhea wants to do after they have their chat, it could easily change the course of history.” 

Ashe leans closer to Dimitri as he whispers, “If only they knew what we knew.” 

Dimitri barely nods in response, twirling a fork between his fingers as Felix says, “This may be off-topic, but where’s Dedue been?” 

“Um… did you not see him and Flayn together?” Sylvain asks with a raised eyebrow, “I’m more than willing to bet Seteth has him pinned to a wall right now.” 

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Annette shakes her head, “Last I saw them, they seemed to be talking rather amicably with each other.” 

“Who knows,” Dimitri replies as he puts his fork down, “It was only the day after we found Flayn when they wouldn’t separate from each other.” 

His friends just shrug in response as Mercedes sits down next to Ashe and says, “I got finished talking with Manuela. Edelgard just confirmed that she’s ready to talk to Lady Rhea.” 

“She has?” Ferdinand asks from the next table over. 

Mercedes nods at him and says, “Yes, but she asked that Jeralt bars any entry into the dormitories, or even the courtyard for that matter until she and Edelgard are finished.” 

“So… we’re stuck by the fishing pond and the market square then until they’re finished?” Casper asks, to which Mercedes nods in confirmation. “Damn it, I actually wanted to listen in.” 

“I know,” Raphael calls from another table, “I wanted to see what happens.” 

“And that’s probably the exact reason she wants guards around the entirety of the dorms,” Lorenz replies with a sigh, “She knows just how curious we are and the lengths we’ll go to.” 

All the students go quiet for a second as they stare at the boy before they all realize that he’s right and just nervously laugh it off. Casper asks, “I mean, we aren’t that bad, are we?” 

Leonie leans back in her chair as she says, “Well, we did execute that mission in the Holy Mausoleum without her knowledge.” 

Claude sighs and adds, “And we also explored somewhere that we probably shouldn’t have, and got trapped down there for a couple of weeks.” 

“And the Golden Deer has a reputation of pranking damn near everyone in the monastery,” Linhardt also adds with a sigh before he comes to a realization. “This might sound crazy, but I’m starting to think professor Byleth has made us this way.” 

Dorothea hums quietly and replies, “You know, you’re not wrong. Before she got here, almost everyone was either uptight or distant from each other, usually sticking to their own groups and Houses. After she arrived and took over as the Golden Deer’s professor… well, look at us. Could any of us have imagined getting along well enough that we’re even having a discussion like this?” 

“She’s right,” Lysithea says before hesitating, “Um… before I continue, everyone knows about…?” 

Ferdinand nods solemnly and says, “Yeah…. I’m going to have a  _ very  _ long talk with my father about that.” 

“For what it’s worth,” Hubert says with a sigh, “I am truly sorry for what you had to face.” 

Lysithea nods in appreciation before she continues, “When I first arrived at this academy, all I wanted to do was graduate, ensure that my parents could take care of themselves, and then surrender my noble title once things were settled with them. After that, I would’ve just allowed nature to take its course and let myself be forgotten. But… when I met Byleth, she gave me a reason to fight on, to not hold myself back away from everyone, and when I learned that Edelgard suffered the same fate that I did, I just couldn’t allow myself to give up like that. Yes, I want nothing to do with noble life once I graduate and still plan to give up my title, and I still want to provide for my parents in any way I can, but I’ve found that, for the lack of a better term, I don’t want to die.” 

Most of the students sit up straight at Lysithea’s words. As the wave of shock settled upon them, Bernadetta hesitantly asked, “B-but, how could you do it?” 

“Because there is a way,” Sothis suddenly says, causing all of the crest bearers to jump slightly as the non-crest bearers just watch them in confusion. 

“Let me guess,” Caspers sighs, “It’s that ghost, right?” 

Sothis scoffs and says with indignation, “If he calls me ‘ghost’ again, I will haunt him for the rest of his days.” 

“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose, though?” Linhardt asks. 

Sothis sighs and says, “Getting back to the point, there is a way we can save Lysthea and Edelgard. While I nor anyone else outside of TWSITD know of the proper procedure or what is required, crests can and have been removed from people.” 

Lysithea nods and adds, “According to my father, when my cousins were subjected to TWSITD’s experiments, sometimes they would come out horribly in pain, even near deranged, but after the next experiment, they would be fine.” 

“Which tells me that TWSITD planted  _ and _ removed crests in those experiments,” Sothis concludes, a faint tone of smugness coming from her. 

Everyone looks at each other as the crest bearers repeat what Sothis had said. Lorenz gets a pensive look before smiling with mild mischievousness in his eyes as he says, “So, what you’re saying is that we need to capture one of TWSITD’s members, correct?” 

“Not just any member,” Sothis replies, “We have two choices, Solon, the older guy with that freaky eye, or Odesse, the one with the plague mask.” 

Before she can continue, a horn is heard over the monastery, and several guards take up positions blocking the door leading to the dormitories. Lysihtea’s eyes watch Sothis’s ethereal form phase through the guards effortlessly, likely returning to Edelgard’s room. 

“It’s happening,” Casper says as he rushes over to the door leading to the fishing pond. Several other students, specifically Ferdinand, Linhardt, Ignatz, Petra, Ingrid, and Sylvain follow just as quickly while the other students take their time leaving the mess hall. As expected, several Knights and guards all block access to the courtyard and stairway leading to the noble dorms. 

Dimitri takes a deep breath as the students gather in front of the guards, whispering to himself, “Stay strong, El.” 

\--------------

Rhea kept her eyes on the ground as she walked across the emptied courtyard. As much as she knew that this meeting needed to happen, she couldn’t help but feel nervous. She was walking a very thin line, where every choice she made once she entered the princess’s room would have serious consequences for the Empire, for the Church, and Fodlan as a whole. The facts didn’t lie; Edelgard kidnapped Flayn and hid her in the Abyss. Edelgard worked with TWSITD and planned that bandit raid in Remire a few months ago, and was likely involved with Lonato’s rebellion. At some point, she rebelled against them and started working towards a new goal. Whatever that goal was, Rhea didn’t know. 

As Rhea approaches Edelgard’s room, she spots Catherine and Shamir standing at attention at the door, their stances stiff and unmoving. Rhea nods at them and says, “I would like for the two of you to stay by the stairs until further notice. We need to be alone when we speak.” 

The two Knights reply, “Yes, ma’am,” in unison before walking away from the door, leaving Rhea alone. Once they were out of sight, Rhea allowed her stiff stance to deflate as she took a shaky breath. 

‘I do not doubt that she knows,’ she thinks to herself, ‘But I can’t show that yet. I need to keep this talk on….’ Suddenly, she remembers what Jeritza had told her. 

‘Listen.’

Rhea looks up at the door with uncertainty. ‘Listen… I need to listen.’ Rhea does what she can to dash away her worries, shaking her head as a look of neutrality appears on her face. She calmly raises her fist and knocks on the door, not saying a word. 

Inside the room, she hears Edelgard say, “Come in,” and she enters the room. 

\--------------

_ Moments earlier… _

Edelgard still rested in her bed, a small smile gracing her face as she read Dimitri’s hastily written note. 

_ “El… _

_ “Normally we would have tea together today but since I know I can’t spend time with you, I figured this was the next best thing. Just make sure to eat this last since it’s just the cakes and sweet pastries you can’t seem to get enough of. And… when we can see each other again, I need to talk to you… _

_ “With  _ _ l ~~ove~~ _ _ regards _

_ “Dimitri” _

She couldn’t help but laugh quietly at Dimitri’s slip-up at the end. ‘To think, a month ago I would’ve slapped him for it.’ 

As she folded the letter back up and placed it back in the bag, she started to give some serious thought to what was to happen once she and Rhea had their talk. ‘If she throws me in the dungeon here… knowing the nobility of the Empire, Lord Aeger will probably just make Ferdinand Emperor and declare me unfit on account of criminal activity. In a way, he could get into Rhea’s favor by making me disappear and carrying on like I didn’t exist. Then again, they did allow TWSITD to infiltrate the Empire.’

More and more outlandish predictions flooded her mind, everything from open rebellion within the Church to TWSITD just destroying Foldan and being done with it. Then, she hears a horn from outside her door, and Sothis darts in a few moments later. 

“She’s on her way,” Sothis says, “Are you certain you’re ready?” 

“Absolutely,” Edelgard answers as she sits herself up in her bed, her legs still too weak to support her. “And you?” 

For once, the normal confidence that Sothis is known for suddenly vanishes and an expression of nervous worry graces her face. “I mean… I can’t say no… but even I’m nervous about it. For all I know, she’ll just call me a fraud and try to kill you.” 

“I know you won’t let that happen,” Edelgard replies, “If all else fails, we can still keep her trapped in the sword and evacuate everyone before she goes… ‘ballistic’ was the word you used, right?” 

“Right,” Sothis answers as she straightens her back and sits in the nearby chair. She takes a deep breath and whispers, “No turning back now.” 

They spend the next few minutes in silence, Edelgard counting the seconds until they hear a few voices outside. Edelgard shares a brief glance with Sothis before she hears someone knocking at her door. 

“Come in,” she answers, and as expected, though her heart did drop a little bit, Rhea enters the room, a forced expression of neutrality on her face as she closes the door behind her. 

Rhea stares at the princess for a few seconds before saying, “Hello… princess Edelgard.” 

Edelgard nods in response, her expression also neutral as she replies, “Hello, Lady Rhea.” 

Sothis remains silent, carefully walking around Rhea and taking a spot by the dresser to observe this conversion soon to take place. 

Rhea clears her throat before asking, “I was informed by professor Manuela that you were ready for this?” 

Edelgard again nods and answers, “I knew this would have to happen sooner rather than later. I just wanted to get this done and over with.” 

Rhea doesn’t reply immediately. She walks over to the window and looks out over the countryside, the setting sun just dipping below the rolling hills in the distance. “First, I want you to explain, with as much detail as possible, how you took Flayn, why you did it, and explain why you were able to wield the Sword of the Creator. Hanneman already showed me that you have two crests, but I want to know what happened.” 

Edelgard is partially surprised by this. She expected Rhea to do most of the talking, make accusations against her, maybe even deliver a verdict right then and there. But Rhea actually wanted to hear her out. ‘For years, you’ve ignored me, ignored the Empire in its time of need. Why listen now?’ Edelgard took a deep breath before taking a sip of her water. “It’s going to be a long explanation, but please hear me out…” 

\--------------

They should’ve followed their orders. Even Jeralt knew he shouldn’t have let this happen, but as soon as Catherine and Shamir had walked down the stairs that lead to the royal quarters in the dormitories, he ordered his knights to stand down and allowed the students to return to the courtyard and attempt to listen in on the conversation. 

“Can you hear anything?” Casper whispers over the edge of the stairs at Petra as she sits just below the window of Edelgard’s room. 

“Not much,” she replies once she walks back to the stairs, “I think the princess is just explaining what we already know.” 

“This isn’t like her,” Seteth says once Petra is back over the rail, “Rhea would normally listen for only a few minutes before delivering her verdict.” 

“Meaning Rhea is actually listening to her,” Jeralt theorizes as he leads the three back down the stairs, “The question I have is what will she do when she’s done listening?” 

“Who knows,” Casper replies, “At this point, all Rhea can do is expel her from the Academy and send her home.” 

“I fear excommunication might be an option,” Seteth adds, “Remember, Edelgard has done far more than just kidnap Flayn. If Rhea does indeed excommunicate her, the Empire will likely crumble as a result.”

“This might sound crazy,” Claude suddenly adds once he’s within earshot, “But maybe the archbishop is trying to avoid a massive national incident.” 

“Keep talking,” Jeralt says. 

Claude gets a sly grin as he explains, “Once word actually starts spreading about the incident, people are going to ask questions, some of which we either might not be able to or outright won’t answer. For example, the Abyss. One such question could be ‘How long has the Church known that the Abyss existed?’ or another being, ‘If the Abyss is a safe haven for wanted criminals, what else could the Church be harboring?’. These are the questions that people will ask, _powerful_ people.” 

Jeralt rubs his chins as he says, “So what you’re saying is that Rhea and Edelgard are having this discussion so that all the facts are laid out and whatever questions the populous may have about this incident can be answered to the best of everyone’s ability without conflicting information.” 

“Exactly,” Claude declares as he points at Jeralt. 

“But that still leaves one question, what will happen to the princess once they are finished?” Seteth points out worriedly. 

“That is not of concern anymore,” Jeritza suddenly says, drawing everyone’s attention, “I’m certain things will work out between them.” 

“I’m guessing you and Rhea talked again?” Casper asks the expressionless man. 

Jeritza nods as he says, “Given what I and most of the crest bearers know, I doubt there will be much fallout with regards to princess Edelgard. I do fear, however, that once they are finished, everyone will be treading a very thin line.” 

“Why would you say that?” Petra asks. 

“Because,” Jeritza looks at the dormitories, a faint sign of concern in his eyes, “If things go right, Edelgard won’t be the only one with an explanation to share.” 

\--------------

Rhea stared out the window, not once looking at Edelgard mostly to hide her ever-changing expressions as Edelgard told her story. As much as she didn’t want to admit it even to herself, she genuinely felt sorry for the princess, perhaps even guilty for allowing this to happen. She still firmly believed that Edelgard had no excuse for assisting the very people that tortured her but weighing it against everything that she lost to them proved difficult. Perhaps, in the princess’s eyes, she felt justified. ‘Almost like Wilhelm himself,’ Rhea thought to herself, ‘Stubbornness always did run in Hresvelg line.’ 

Edelgard takes a deep breath as she finishes, “After we were nearly defeated at TWSITD’s hands, Byleth and the other students with her made it there. I’m pretty sure everyone else shared what happened after.” 

“They did,” Rhea replies quietly, speaking for the first time since Edelgard started speaking, “That means at least Byleth and the other house leaders knew of what you’ve been doing for the last several months, yes?” 

“Yes,” Edelgard answers, “Before I took Flayn, Byleth, Claude, Lysithea, Hubert, and professor Jeritza knew. Dimitri only knew half the truth until we reunite in the Abyss.” 

Rhea’s head twitches slightly at the mention of Jeritza’s name. ‘He knew all this time?’ she asks herself. “What were their immediate responses?” 

“Byleth seemed to have a good idea before I outright told her,” Edelgard explains, “For Lysithea… we were sneaking into the sauna about once a week late at night so we could talk together, mostly because I’m… very self-conscious of the scars on my body.” 

“I’m aware,” Rhea replies, “And the others.” 

“Hubert was aware of the events that unfolded as they happened, and swore himself to me as my retainer once I was released. Jeritza… I’d suggest listening to him directly. It’d be better if he explained his story himself.” 

“It can be arranged. And as for the other house leaders?” 

“Claude, though he was initially very skeptical, agreed not to share a word with anyone after I shared the truth with him. As for Dimitri,” Edelgard hesitates for a second before saying, “He tried to kill me.” 

Rhea closes her eyes and asks, “You… or the Emperor of Flames?” 

Edelgard sighs heavily as she answers, “I went to his room as the Emperor of Flames, but I left his room as myself. After what he told me about the Tragedy of Duscur, what he faced in person, I felt he deserved the truth.” 

Rhea changes her gaze in the window to look at Edelgard’s reflections. The princess wasn’t looking at Rhea, but down at the nearly empty water glass in her hands, a few tears dropping into the glass. Rhea’s intense gaze softened, watching her pitifully. ‘If the timeframe she gave me is correct, there is no way she is responsible for the Tragedy. The armor she had became simply a means to an end for her until she shared the truth with Dimitri. After that, it must’ve become a burden.’ 

“I…” Rhea takes a moment to clear her throat before continuing, “I was told by Dimitri that the mask was broken?” 

“It is,” Edelgard nods in confirmation, not looking up, “I gave it to Dimitri so he could lay his past to rest by breaking the one thing that has haunted him for years.” 

“I see,” Rhea closes her eyes. She knew that her next few questions were going to prove very difficult to ask, but she knew it needed to happen. Rhea asks, “As of right now, what is your opinion towards the Church?” 

Edelgard spends a few seconds pondering her response, Rhea looking at the princess’s reflection. Edelgard sighs quietly and answers, “My problem isn’t the Church. There are good people who serve here and at the other chapels throughout Fodlan.” 

‘Not what expected, but exactly what I feared,’ Rhea then looks at the ground and asks, “So your animosity… must be at me then?” 

Edelgard looks up at Rhea, her neutral gaze remaining firm though Rhea could almost feel the pent-up anger and malice as it pierced her back. Edelgard’s voice is barely a whisper as she answers, “Yes.” 

Rhea suddenly feels cornered, as if something thick and heavy was surrounding her. She keeps herself in check, reminding herself that she purposely left herself unarmed for this talk. While she still had many questions for the princess, only one stuck out in her mind. ‘There is only one reason she would throw this level of anger at me.’ 

Rhea asks with a quiet voice, “Did… Flayn tell you who I really am?” 

“You are Rhea,” Edelgard answers, her anger dulling, though a level of irritation remained, “Once known as Seiros, the founder of the Church and the slayer of Nemesis.” 

‘Damn it,’ Rhea curses silently as an expression of rage graced her face, ‘If she lets this information get out, it could spell a disaster even greater than what TWSITD could ever do.’ 

Rhea calms herself, finally turning to face Edelgard as the princess glares back defiantly. “You know what would happen if Fodlan found out about this, do you?” 

Edelgard rests her back against her headboard, her eyes looking away from Rhea as she says, “I know, but I don’t plan on sharing it. It would only allow TWSITD and the Western Church to ascend in power.” 

Rhea’s own expression of rage fades as well once she knows Edelgard won’t share this. “Who else knows?” 

“As far as I’m aware, only those who got trapped down there and the Ashen Wolves know.” 

Edelgard and Rhea go silent. Neither of them knew how to continue the conversation. ‘I need to do something,’ Rhea thinks silently, ‘She hasn’t shared everything with me. I just need to push her in the right direction.’ 

“After everything you’ve done,” Rhea beings, “After everything that happened to you, why? Why did you go through the trouble of supporting TWSITD, orchestrating the attack in Remire, and planning for a war that no one would’ve wanted, only to suddenly abandon it, tell the truth about yourself to who could’ve been your biggest enemies, even so far as to kidnap Flayn to keep her away from TWSITD?” 

Edelgard remains silent, looking away and nodding at something briefly before returning her attention to Rhea, saying, “Because there is someone that you need to talk to.” 

Rhea feels something pulling her like her spirit was being ripped from her body. Before she could react, the world around her suddenly goes white for a split second before she finds herself standing in a grand hall. She can see a set of double doors at the far end, silver sconces lining the walls, and ornate tapestries depicting the history… of her people. 

“No…” Rhea whispers in disbelief, “I’ve seen these before.” She looks down at the carpet, a shade of green she had not seen in centuries. “If… this is….” 

Her thoughts are interrupted by a single voice behind her, a voice she has been longing to hear for nearly a millennium, “Hello, Rhea.” 


End file.
